


Awakening

by ZoroAbarai



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Brotherhood, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Caring Roronoa Zoro, Comfort/Angst, Dark, Demon Roronoa Zoro, Demons, Despair, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Gore, Guilt, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Control, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Nakamaship, Pain, Regret, Roronoa Zoro-centric, Sad, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Violence, ZoSan - Freeform, injured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 15:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 150,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9908072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoroAbarai/pseuds/ZoroAbarai
Summary: Ever Since Zoro could remember there has been a looming darkness over him. The crave for blood, to kill like he was a demon. He could feel it getting stronger, waiting for the right time to take control of him... It's wait was over.(Transferred over from Fanfiction.net)





	1. Overthrown

# Overthrown

**((Authors Note: This is my first Zoro Fanfiction, so I would love for you to leave a review telling me how it is! I encourage constructive criticism and I'd appreciate it a lot, I don't have much experience in writing so I could use all the help I can get! I hope you like it!))**

They got caught in a deadly trap... One that would change the Straw Hat's lives forever...

The ocean of marines surrounded Luffy who had ran up ahead of Zoro and Sanji, attacking him all at once. The monster trio was ambushed in a small grassy clearing between the Sunny and the small, underpopulated town they were shopping in. They managed to catch them off guard and clip sea prison stone handcuffs onto their captain. As soon as Luffy was weakened enough, falling to his knees from the stone, the marines all charged at him at the same times firing gun shots, stabbing and slashing all sorts of weapons into the rubber boy.

A cry of pain was heard from the crowd of marines but the voice didn't belong to Luffy. When the crowd stopped moving a green haired man stood with his arms out, between Straw Hat and the marines taking all the attacks for his captain. He was shot, slashed and impaled with all the weapons the marines had. It seemed like every inch of his body had a weapon running him through. The marines pulled out all of the weapons at the same time leaving the swordsman with horribly deep cut and slash wounds letting them bleed out. The grass around him stained red leaving puddles of the red stuff sinking into the ground. He coughed up blood grunting in pain but seemed to stay on his feet for longer than expected.

His arms eventually dropped and he finally fell to his knees coughing up blooding once again with pain wrenched on his face. "D...am...n... I...t." The swordsman's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell forward Luffy catching him quickly to dampen the impact of the fall. The ocean of marines backed up ready for another attack when Sanji had finally made his way over to them kicking all marines back. Luffy looked down at Zoro with widened eyes seeing the amount blood on his hands from only touching his swordsman for a second.

"Zoro! Zoro!?" Luffy continued rocking the swordsman back and forth getting no response from him. "Say something, anything!" His voice was desperate and full of worry looking down at his right hand man's bloodied body. Sanji stood next to them kicking away any marines that tried to interfere with his captain.

"That was so damn reckless marimo." He mumbled, sounding a lot more worried then he would have liked. He curled his hands into fists glancing over at the sea prison stone wrapped around Luffy's wrist. "You better be alive, shitty swordsman." He said more to himself then anyone, kicking away another marine.

...

The thick grass was cold and wet. Though he was somewhat unconscious there was still a part of him that was still aware of his surroundings. He could feel his entire body getting colder and colder despite the warm, think, red liquid all over him. He couldn't feel the cold raindrops falling on his back washing away the blood as more took its place, he could only feel a sharp, unbearable pain shooting through his entire body as he was being rocked vigorously. He tried to pry his eyes open but couldn't, it was like they were glued shut. "Zoro! Zoro!? Say something!" A voice echoed in his head but it seemed like it was so far away. There was something recognizable about the voice that drifted into his pounding head.

'Luffy?' It had to be him... He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even breath so how could he tell Luffy that he was alright? Well... He was far from alright. But he couldn't stand having other people worry about him. 'Damn it Luffy... You better not die...' His thoughts where interrupted when another voice echoed through his head much louder, making his ears ring.

"They are all in your way... Cut them all down... Show no mercy..." Who the hell was that? The voice sounded so familiar but he couldn't make out who it was. "Make their blood spill... Hack away at them until there is nothing left..." Without even realizing it, Zoro's mind went blank and he lost what was left of his consciousness.

...

"Where's Chopper!?" Luffy finally pried his worried gaze off his swordsman looking up at Sanji seriously. The cook took another look at the marines wrapping two fingers around the cigarette that was rolling in between his lips. He took a deep breath of tobacco exhaling slowly as if stalling to give an answer. He saw that the marines where not coming any closer and nodded finding that they were all keeping their distance.

"He should be still in town shopping with Nami-san, Robin-chan and the rest." He glanced back at Luffy seeing the burning anger in his eyes along with his flushed, worried face looking up desperately at him. He didn't like that look on his face, looking at Luffy like that made his heart sink into his stomach. When he saw Luffy's face grow more desperate he immediately blurted out something he hoped was true with a slightly shaky voice. "I'm sure they will be coming by here any time. You have to take this path to get to the Sunny." Despite his voice shaking against his will it seemed to work as Luffy glanced back at Zoro turning around to face the marines.

"Your right... I know Zoro's alive; he wouldn't die before he fulfilled his dream." Those words added hope to the air sending a rush of determination through both of them. He glanced at the sea prison stone hand cuffs around his wrist lifting his head to see the marines. He could feel his energy draining more and more but refused to lie down. He couldn't stand, but he could still protect Zoro. Both Sanji and Luffy stared at the group waiting for one of them to make a move but they stayed completely still as if they all froze in place somehow. It grew deadly silent when you heard the clanking of heavy footsteps getting closer and closer to the three of them.

"Vice admiral Kaze!" They all said in unison stepping aside to make a perfectly straight path to the monster trio like robots. A tall built man walked calmly through it stopping in front of Sanji who was in between the marine and Luffy.

"Oh?" The vice admiral saw Zoro lying there instead of the raven haired boy he expected to see. "It seems like the pirate hunter got in the way of the attack, huh? An unexpected turn of events but it works all the same." Sanji could feel his eyes burning with anger as he ran at the marine with all his strength.

"Flanchet!" He sent a powerful kick at the marine's stomach. The vice admiral just stood there calmly not even moving away from the kick. When the cook thought he made contact, he saw that his foot went straight through the man's body getting soaked in water. "A logia type!?" His shout in disbelief seamed to trigger a hard punch to the chest from the man, sending him flying backwards and hitting Luffy who caught him carefully to avoid slamming into their bloody swordsman.

"I ate the Mizu Mizu no mi, I'm a water man." He grinned using a cocky voice and acting like he's better than them. Sanji climb back to his feet staring down his opponent.

'Great... A logia type devil fruit user. Bastard... This isn't good...' He took another glance at the crew's unconscious swordsman before turning around running back at their opponent. 'He doesn't have much time left. Where is Chopper!?' He sent a hard kick to the marine's thigh "Cruisse!" Seeing it pass right through he quickly sent another hard kick at the brown haired marine's shin "Jarret!"

He still passed through not succeeding in throwing him off balance like he planned. He didn't stop with the barrage yet sending a powerful side kick to his cheek "Joue Shoot!" Having it desperate into water once again. Sanji finally falls back onto his hands kicking the marines jaw with both feet "Bouquetier Shoot!" His head only bursted into water as Sanji landed back on his feet panting heavily.

"Are you done now?" He stood in the same position as before not even stepping back or trying to block the attack. Sanji didn't get one hit on in, he didn't do any damage! He just wasted his energy. The vice admiral's expressions grew even more bored creating a big ball of water. "This should do the trick..." Without any warning he threw the water orb at the exhausted cook. It engulfed his head without dispersing; it just stayed around there suffocating him. The blond tried clawing at the water bubble but his hands just slipped through over and over again. Luffy could only watch as his cook drowned right in front of him with his eyes open widely unable to help.

"Sanji!" The captain yelled at him as if the louder he yelled the easier it would be for Sanji to escape. It was a fantasy though and after finally swallowing enough water Sanji fell. The vice admiral kicked him back sending him tumbling towards Luffy. "Damn you!" Luffy had that rare serious, fiery expression he wore when his friends where hurt. He still couldn't get up thanks to the handcuffs but he refused to back down.

"Luffy! Luffy!" A woman's voice yelled out to him desperately in between pants.

"Nami!?" He yelled louder filled with happiness to hear the sound of his other crew member's voice. They made their way around the marines breaking through the crowed and stumbling out to him. Luffy's smile turned to a serious frown seeing that the rest of his nakama where in pretty bad shape themselves, covered in bruises and sweat from another fight.

"A smaller group of marines tried to ambush us earlier..." Robin stated calmly catching her breath. The little doctor looked horrified at Zoro and Sanji lying unconscious on the floor trying to hold back the tears running down his face. He quickly ran over to Zoro first starting to open his medical kit in between sniffles when a hard hit sent the little reindeer flying.

"Don't even think about it." The marine stated almost annoyed. His other ambush didn't work out as well as this one, it seemed as if he underestimated the abilities of the rest of the Straw Hats. Yet, they where is absolutely no shape to fight. Franky, Brook and Usopp where back at the ship having no idea what was going on. The vice admiral quickly kicked Robin in the stomach sending her flying and knocking her out. The doctor was already unconscious, his eyes still wet from the tears. The marine quickly reached out grabbing Nami's neck tightly causing her to choke.

"S-Sanji-kun! Zoro! Wake up somebody!" Her eyes where watering in fear as she tried to kick the marines away finding it was no use. Luffy was now lying on the ground unable to move a muscle because of the stone. "Luffy! Sanji-kun! ZORO!" She screamed as the grip was tightening to break her neck. She closed her eyes and felt herself fall to the ground suddenly. Nami coughed violently catching her breath once again. "Wha-?" She re-opened her chestnuts eyes to see her swordsman's back in front of her. "Zoro!?" She almost whispered in disbelief seeing the drops of blood hit the ground. He stayed completely silent raising his sword and slashing it down on the marine. His sword actually pierces his shoulder as the marine jumps back in surprise.

"How did you cut me!?" He held his shoulder not having an injury in years. Nami was just as surprised as the vice admiral was, Zoro still remained silent looking at the marine coldly. His gaze was so demonic and cold that it sent shivers down the marines back. Every part of the vice admiral's body was telling him to run, run far away but he fought it out of his mind. Zoro crossed his swords in front of him saying darkly

"Oni-Giri..." He slashed the marine's chest deeply as the scream from the marine snapped Chopper and Robin awake. The water around Sanji's head dispersed leaving the cook coughing up water trying to re-gain his breath. Their eyes immediately whipped over the Zoro dripping blood from everywhere in his body, staring at the shocked marine.

"W-what wrong with Zoro!?" Chopper sniffled looking at the demonic swordsman terrified.

"Something definitely isn't right!" Nami narrowed her eyes watching Zoro closely nodding her head to show she agrees with the statement she made. There was definitely something wrong, Zoro was much colder than usual and something about him seems inhuman but she couldn't put her finger on it. Nobody could...

The rest of those coward marines where long gone by now. They ran away as soon as things turned bad for their superior officer, so as long as they could beat the vice admiral they could go back to the Sunny.

The marine suddenly felt a cold steel blade stab through his shoulder. He yelled trying to pull the blade out swinging his body around desperately. Zoro kept the blade pierced through him continuing to hear the pain filled grunts coming from the marine as he tried to break free. More blood started to jet out of the stab wound on his shoulder as he gripped both his bare hands on the blade of the sword pulling as hard as he could only leaving more blood on it from his hands.

Zoro licked his lips demonically giving the marine another cold glance as he slashed the sword that was already impaled in Kaze downwards creating a huge gaping cut down his side. The vice admiral let out another wail in pain as more blood erupted out of the injury. The marine finally managed to lift his other arm and punch Zoro in the stomach sending him sliding backwards. His force loosened up enough for the marine to pull out the sword from his shoulder.

Kaze knew his arm was completely useless now unable to even make his fingers twitch. His eyes filled with rage as he created a water whip with his devil fruit powers.

He cracked it down on Zoro over and over again whipping the injuries that he got from the other marines protecting his captain. He watched as they tore open wider and wider continuing to whip them. Zoro's body was motionless staying in the same spot and holding the exact same look on his face. He didn't say a word, didn't grunt or yell in pain at all. He simply stood there limply. More blood poured out of his now even more serious injuries dripping onto the puddle of blood that was already created, too much for the rain to wash away and too much to sink into the stained grass.

Kaze continued for quite some time until he was sure that all the swordsman's bones where broken and that the amount of blood he lost would be impossible to survive. For good measure he cracked a final blow onto Zoro's chest sending a loud whipping sound through the rain and to all of the green haired man's friends. The marine stared at Zoro's limp, motionless body giving a slight nod in delight at his work. He assumed the man had died while standing up. "Now to deal with the rest of this crew." He calmly took a step to the side eyeing the remaining friends with horrified looks on their faces.

"In the way..." His voice was quiet as if he was talking to himself as if nothing happened. Kaze turned his attention back onto Zoro matching the Straw Hat's horrified looks. The swordsman licked the blood off his sword hearing cracks in his bones with each movement. He kept his cold, emotionless eyes on his opponent.

"How the hell are you alive!?" The marine's voice was desperate, full of frustration, rage and fear. "You lost so much blood, all your bones have turned to dust! You shouldn't be able to breath let alone move!" He curled his hands into fists shaking his head as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. "What the hell are you!?"

Zoro didn't answer his question, in fact he didn't even seem to be able to hear the marines pleads. "Cut them all down... Show no mercy..."

Kaze's skin lost all of its color and before he could even react another slash was aiming for his neck. He snapped out of his daze just in time to jump back having the sword only graze his neck. The swordsman just tried to behead him! His realization sent more panic through the marine.

Another trust flew directly at the marine's heart as he dove out of the way having it cut his side deeply. He gritted his teeth together in pain refusing to yell again. Over and over again, more sword strike where flying at each one of the marines vital points aiming to kill him in one stroke. He barley dodged each one getting slashes somewhere else in the process.

Kaze kept his eyes on his opponent when he realized the dark aura surrounding Zoro. It was so ominous, full of blood lust... It sent another shivers down the marines back as Zoro's dark, red, soulless eyes met his. Kaze froze on the spot completely unable to move, as if the swordsman's aura and gaze where crushing him. The aura around Zoro's bloodied body only seemed to get darker and darker along with his gaze as he walked closer to the frozen marine. It was pure darkness, pure evil. Zoro's expression wore no anger or frustration only cold instinct. The message came to his mind again but only much louder this time. 'RUN!' His entire body was now shaking knowing that he was going to be devoured by the darkness, by the demon standing in front of him.

Zoro didn't even hesitate to slash the helpless marine brutally across his stomach almost spilling him in half. "Make their blood spill..." He slashed his other sword across Kaze's legs cutting them both cleanly off. Both Kaze and his legs fell motionlessly onto the ground as more blood bursted out of his injuries with pathetic screams and whimpers coming from the man. He begged for Zoro not to kill him with all the energy he could muster to talk, even if it only came out in a pained whisper.

Soon after the screams and begs where silenced as Zoro's sword cut the marine's head clean off. It rolled away from his body as blood continued to flow out of his neck. "Hack away at them until there is nothing left..." The swordsman didn't stop, he continued stabbing multiple holes in the marine's body unleashing more and more blood covering himself and the grass ground with thick red liquid. It was too much for the rain to wash away, there was now a pool of it surrounding them. Kaze's chest was cut wide open and every inch of him was covered in blood only shaking in response to the impacts.

Zoro ripped apart his body, crushing bones and severing almost every inch of him from one another so all that was left where chunks of bloodied meat. The blood wasn't even circulating anymore... The body was unrecognizable now. But even then... Zoro continued. No... This wasn't Zoro, it couldn't be called Zoro. It was a demon.

"W-What are you doing Zoro!? H-H-He's already-!" Nami found her voice once again after witnessing the horrifying scene. It took all of her might to hold in her lunch. The swordsman turned around showing her his dark, cold gaze that froze Nami on the spot. He turned back around as if he didn't even hear her continuing to slash at the marine again and again. "He's already dead Zoro! Stop!" She got up running at him not wanting to fear her nakama. 'I know Zoro's in there somewhere!' She repeated those words over and over again in her mind to calm herself down quickly grabbing a hold of one of Zoro's swinging arms. As soon as she did Zoro's cold gaze went even colder as if they have lost all life slashing at Nami with his other hand.

"You're in the way..." Zoro muttered emotionlessly. Nami screeched holding the arm Zoro cut falling back down. "Don't get in my way." His voice was soulless and as cold as his gaze as he walked towards Nami slowly raising his weapon. He slashed down aiming for one of the navigator's vital organs when he heard Luffy's yell.

"ZORO!" Luffy's voice was so desperate and shaky it sunk each of his crew member's hearts. The blade froze only centimeters away from Nami. His eyes widened turning back to normal as his face flushed.

"Nami?... Was I just...?" Zoro lowered his weapon staring at Nami with a horrified look on his face.

"I guess your back then..." The navigator gave him a sad, terrified smile. The green haired man paused turning his head slowly to see the chopped up pieces of what use to be a vice admiral along with the head that ended up rolling this way with terror still engraved on its face. He knew exactly what he did, but it was like something came over him, like he turned into someone else. He put his hand on his face falling to his knees staring at the ground.

"I did that...?" It was more of a statement then a question as the pupils in his eyes faded from red to their correct color. He coughed having all the pain from his injuries flood through him twice as bad this time. His eyes rolled to the back of his head once again as his body crashed down on to the ground.

Chopper's eyes were being covered by Robin the entire time not allowing the little reindeer to see what was happening. The horrified looks on their faces stayed until Chopper finally pried Robin's hands off him running over to Zoro. "This isn't good! We have to get him back to the Sunny right away!" The Straw Hats seemed to snap out of their trances quickly getting up and running over to Zoro.

"When we get back to the ship we'll figure out how to get those handcuffs off you Luffy." Sanji assured picking Luffy up and practically dragging him along.

...

Zoro found himself in between consciousness and unconsciousness yet again. He could feel the soft bed was warm and cozy with a certain familiar feel to it. The pain stabbed through him twice as bad as last time. It was even more unbearably burning up his entire body. He was finally able to get warm though under the thick blankets. This time it was quiet. He wasn't moving and there was no voice yelling at him. 'Maybe I'll just, go back to sleep.' His thoughts almost went blank when he finally heard the voice again.

"They are all in your way... Cut them all down... Show no mercy..."

**((Authors Note: I did my best to leave it at a cliff hanger... Again, I hope you liked it and please review! Chapter 2 will come out as soon as possible.))**


	2. Voices

# Voices

**((Authors Note: Thank you guys so much for the amazing reviews! I really appreciate it! I'd love to hear more from you guys so please keep me updating on how I'm doing with reviews.))**

"There's so much blood..." Chopper looked down at Zoro's mangled body lying on the red grass surrounded by a deep puddle of blood. "It's a miracle that he's alive." The little reindeer suddenly transformed into a huge, gorilla-looking animal keeping his tiny, innocent little voice. He looked at each of his nakama with a serious glare giving out orders professionally. "I can't operate here... Sanji... Take Zoro to the medical room on the Sunny. I'll be right behind you once I help Nami and Robin. I also need to calculate how much blood he needs, Zoro will definitely have a blood transfusion done on him."

The cook gave Chopper an anxious nod placing in jacket over the bloody swordsman's shoulders. He then lifted him on his back gently trying not to shake him too much. The pirate hunter's blood started seeping into the cloths on Sanji's back staining them crimson and leaving the cook with the feeling of thick, warm liquid on his back. He took his tie wrapping it around Zoro's wrists to keep them slung over his neck so he wouldn't fall off. The swordsman groaned in pain at the movements despite Sanji's efforts to be extra gentle and despite the fact that Zoro has been unconscious for quite some time.

"Me and Robin will be fine Sanji-kun. We'll search the marines for the key to Luffy's handcuffs... Please take care of Zoro." The swirly browed cook's eyes lit up in hearts singing delightfully.

"Of course Nami-swan! I'll meet you back on the ship!" He practically twirled off into the direction of the Sunny making sure to avoid the puddles of blood.'Nami-san is so beautiful when she's worried!' Sanji thought as he walked into the dark forest. He weaved through tree after tree when a grim recognition hit Sanji causing him to hear the pounding of his own heart. The cook could barely feel the marimo's chest rise and fall and when it did, Zoro's face clenched on pain, like it hurt for him to even breathe.

"A...re... th...e... oth...ers... a-al...right...?" a whispering voice echoed in Sanji's ear as he turned to see the swordsman's tired, half opened eye. It looked like it took all of Zoro's energy to keep it open. They weren't cold or red anymore which relived Sanji immensely even if it was blood-shot and heavy looking. He tried to keep the same annoyed expression that he always wore around Zoro so the moss head wouldn't get the idea that he was actually worried about him.

"They're all fine... Now shut up marimo. You shouldn't be talking now. Save your energy." He spoke with the most annoyed, care free tone he could managed but it still came out shaky, hearing obvious undertones of worry.

"I'm... So...rr...y..." There was a long pause of silence while Zoro took a shallow, painful breath which was seemingly all the air he could get. He let out a small cough as he continued talking weakly. "Da...mn... It... I-I tr...ied... To k-k...ill Na...mi... I pro...ba...bly... sca...red y-you gu...ys..." He coughed violently trying to raise his hand to cover his mouth but found that it wouldn't budge. His coughing fit continued for a long time making Zoro cough up some of the little blood he had left from time to time.

"Hey! Get it together moss head!" Sanji gritted his teeth sounding way too worried and desperate. The blond felt useless that he wasn't able to help his friend at a moment like this. He saw that coughing hurt Zoro unbearably and it bugged the cook to see his nakama this way, even if he acted like he hated the guy.

Zoro's violent coughing finally came to a stop leaving the swordsman moaning in pain. His breathing was getting much worse, it was even shallower then before and he could hear a rasp with each inhale.

"D...a...m...n..." Zoro's voice was even softer now and Sanji could tell it hurt him talk. He tried to brush off the coughing fit he witnessed earlier so he could whip the terror off his face.

The cook sighed calming down enough for his heart to start beating normally again. Sanji knew that the swordsman was blaming himself entirely for everything that happened, trying to hold all the weight on his shoulders as usual which angered the cook even more now, seeing the condition Zoro was in.

"Me, scared of you!?" The cook let out a fake laugh acting like the coughing fit never happened and trying to get Zoro's spirits up. "Why would I be afraid of a shitty swordsman like you!?" He flashed Zoro a forced, sly grin immediately turning around to watch his step in the darkened forest. He wanted to get a rise out of Zoro, to have a sense of normality for once to calm his nerves but the swordsman didn't take the bait. Zoro remained silent focusing on his breathing.

Sanji's toe caught on one of the roots sending the cook stumbling forward shaking around Zoro on his back. The greed haired man grunted in pain trembling from the sudden movement. Sanji regained his balance quickly stopping for a few seconds to see if his nakama was still alive, not even daring to breath. He heard Zoro's raspy breathing once again and finally exhaled continuing forward. Shitty roots and vines where lying on the ground as if they were freaking meant to trip people. "Damn forest..." Sanji muttered under his breath. He knew that the Sunny was just on the other side but the more he walked the worse Zoro seemed to be getting. The cook continued carefully navigated through the forest not wanting to trip again. He anxiously speed-walked towards the Sunny checking to see if Zoro was still alive once in a while.

Zoro had already slipped out of consciousness once again on the cooks back worrying Sanji even more. He could feel that dark aura coming back for a split second, then dispersing again as if it was never there. "What's going on with you moss head?"

...

'I guess this isn't a bed...' Zoro thought trying to move but his entire body felt as heavy as lead. Back yet again in his half-conscious state. Even the air around him was getting thicker and thicker making it impossible to breathe, his chest was getting tighter too making Zoro feel like he was going to suffocate. The so-called blanket the swordsman felt on his back was the ero-cook's now dripping red coat draped over his shoulders to keep him warm. In his half-conscious state he was able to feel the gentle footsteps bouncing him up and down.

"Kill him..." Zoro's eyes squeezed closed gritting his teeth together.

'No...' He thought, the statement was clear and full of confidence but the voice didn't go away, it didn't get any quieter... It only felt more powerful.

"You like the colour of blood don't you? The feel of it..." The voice echoed at an ear blasting volume ripping through the swordsman's already throbbing head. It caused him to close his eyes even tighter.

'I told you no! Now get out of my head you bastard!' Zoro's inner voice was full of rage remembering what this thing made him do.

"I am you Zoro, I'm what you really want... I'm how you really are... " The voice got more menacing, you could hear the bloodlust twisted into it.

...

"Kill him..." Those cold, quiet words slipped past Zoro's lips landing in the cook's ear. Sanji turned back looking at the green haired man worried. He was... Sleep talking? The cook has never heard of anyone talking while they were unconscious. He brushed it off focusing all of his energy to walk as fast as possible without shaking. He didn't want to worsen Zoro's condition. "Blood..." The swordsman's voice was cold again holding the same satanic tone and full of bloodlust. The dark aura came back but disappeared yet again when Zoro stopped talking.

"Pain in the ass..." Sanji muttered continuing to stride forward. Finally he could hear the splash of waves against the shoreline from behind the trees just in front of him. The cook smelt the sea water and bursted out of the forest seeing the decently sized boat with a lion figure head that looked more like a sun than anything else in his opinion. Relief flooded him seeing that it was still where he left it and practically ran towards the ship which was swaying gently on top of the waves. He climbed aboard quickly but smoothly still trying to make the ride better for his sickly nakama.

Everybody turned from whatever they were doing on the deck, their eyes drawn to the sound of footsteps climbing up the Sunny. A curly eyebrow revealed itself from behind the ship as the rest of the body followed. "Sanji!" Usopp ran over to greet him happily when his smile dropped seeing the half dead swordsman limply leaning against Sanji's back.

"Sanji-san... What happened to Zoro-san?" Brook seemed to spot Zoro right away leaning over the cook to get a better look. Even if his face was only bone you could see the concerned and horrified expression matching Usopp and Franky's.

"I don't have time to explain! I have to get him to the medical room quickly, Chopper should be right behind me with Robin-chan and Nami-san." His explanation was a lot more rushed, again, sounding more worried then he wanted to. He whipped by Franky along with the shipwright's half-created invention kicking open the door to the small medical room. The strong sent of medicine slapped Sanji in the face as he entered the room placing Zoro carefully on the bed. He narrowed his eyes looking at the usual strong swordsman, lying lifelessly on the now blood covered bed. The red liquid seeped into the white covers quickly turning them crimson.

As if on cue Chopper bursted into the room with his medical equipment ready. He ran up to Zoro's bedside as Nami and Robin waited patiently at the door. Luffy, who's handcuffs were off but he still feeling a bit weak, was sitting down and leaning against the wall. He turned to the doorway of anxious nakama asking in the same professional tone as before "Could you get a couple of items for me?" He made eye contact with the bandaged Nami who nodded determinedly. Robin smiled calmly walking away from the cramped room to explain what had happened to the rest of her confused crew mates.

"Will he make it?" Sanji asked grimly not even trying to hide the worry from his voice.

"I-I don't know... I can't tell for certain right now." The little doctor answered in the same grim tone as Sanji though his voice was shaking twice as much. He checked Zoro's vital signs each time making the same surprised, look of despair when he was done. "He's burning up with a high fever and he needs a blood transfusion, quickly... Nami can you please get the blood bags?" Nami nodded again pushing her way into the room and rummaging through the well maintained closet.

The Straw Hats heard a pained moan coming from the crimson bed beside them. Did Zoro gain consciousness again!? He must be in tremendous pain right now if he is... The pirate hunter's body twitched slightly as a painful cough came out of Zoro causing him to spit up more blood. That idiot was trying to move!

"Shitty swordsman! If you lose any more of that stuff you're going to die, stop trying to move!" Sanji snapped causing the twitching to come to a stop. He sounded annoyed but mostly worried dreading it soon after. He was sure Zoro knew the cook was concerned about him now, to tell the truth, he probably knew it from the very beginning which was the last thing Sanji wanted.

Nami held up the bags with Zoro's correct blood type waiting for Chopper's next instruction. "This is the hard part." He stated laying out all of his surgical items neatly onto the table beside him. The doctor took another glance at Zoro, sniffling to hold back the tears that where making their way to his eyes.

...

Darkness surrounded Zoro and the unbearable pain was still coursing through his entire body. It was getting even worse than before and was now at a point where the swordsman would be screaming in agony if he could. He tried to open his eyes again but failed, his eye lids where still too heavy to lift. "Cut them down... Make them spill their blood and scream out in agony..." That damn voice was back and he really didn't have the energy to argue with it anymore. It was still pounding through his head with each word.

Suddenly the voice stopped being replaced with another one. "Hey Zoro!"

...

"Hey Zoro!" Sanji snapped again testing to see if he was awake. The dark aura was bursting out of control again. The swordsman opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a pained groan.

"Say something damn it!" He covers his worry with annoyance waiting for Zoro to respond.

He pushed harder finally able to force a word out of his mouth. "Lu...ffy...?" Sanji's voice was so hazy to the half dead pirate hunter that he couldn't tell who it was anymore.

"Do I sound like Luffy to you? Idiot..." Sanji shoved his hands in his pockets looking at the pirate hunter closely still hiding his concern.

"E...ro...-coo...k..." Zoro panted out again. The cook immediately broke out into a sarcastic clap.

"You got it! Congratulations!" His enthusiasm was sarcastic and fake along with the grin he gave Zoro. "Looks like you're smarter than I thought!"

"I'm... Gl...ad... Eve...ry...body... I-Is alr...ight..." He let off a slight relieved smile which soon dropped as he coughed up blood again.

"Alright, alright. Now stop talking." Sanji looked away trying to sound as annoyed as he possibly could feeling slightly saddened that the swordsman didn't take the bait again. Nami smiled seeing the two of them talk, in this rare occasion it relieved her that they were talking.

"Sanji-kun is right... You should get some rest." The navigator spoke calmly and sweetly as if talking to an injured puppy. Zoro's face twitched in annoyance at the tone, he hated being pitied.

Chopper finished hooking Zoro up the bag full of crimson letting the thick liquid flow to the swordsman's arm. "Once you fall asleep I'll start treating your injuries, you need rest Zoro." Chopper added, concerned but professional.

He didn't like worrying everyone, it bugged him to be so useless... To make matters worse they weren't acting afraid, or reluctant to help him even after what he did, even after what they saw. Don't they know that if they make him better he could possibly attack them again? Hurting, or ever worse... killing them!? Of course he doesn't want to but... He noticed his thoughts fading as Zoro lost consciousness once again.

"It seems like he finally went back to sleep." Chopper stated relieved. "Let's get started! First off we need to clean his injuries, I can't work with all this blood on him. We need to bring his fever down too... Sanji can you go get a bucket of warm water along with a dish cloth soaked in cold water? And Nami, please get some rags."

"Right!" They both scattered in opposite directions, Sanji going to the kitchen to get the bowl and a wet dish cloth while Nami stayed, opening different cabinets in the cramped room. Nami finally found the rags when Sanji bursted back through the door holding a silver bucket filled to the top with comfortably warm water in one hand and a white dish cloth soaked in cold water with the other. He placed the bucket quickly on the small table closest to the bed making sure to avoid Chopper's tools then placed the cold cloth on Zoro's forehead carefully. Nami handed the doctor one of the white rags she found giving another to Sanji and leaving the last one for herself.

"If we all help it will go fast." She smiled soaking her rag in the water and getting to work on Zoro's injuries.

"You're so smart Nami-swan!" Sanji cooed soaking his own rag. He followed Nami's lead and started to carefully clean Zoro's wounds.

"Thank you everyone!" Chopper whipped away the tears from his eyes wetting his cloth and getting to work. Zoro's face twisted up in pain wincing with each stroke of the rag. It seemed he could still felt pain even in his current state. After whipping the excess blood off of the swordsman all of their eyes widened at the gravity of his injuries. The blood was covering up most of deep the cuts and bruises inflicted on him. He looked completely mangled seeing how almost every bone in his body was broken and all his muscles where torn to shreds.

"Damn it marimo what happened to you!?" They all looked in horror until Nami broke the silence swallowing hard.

"H-how is he alive!? Is he really still breathing!?" Nami placed her hand over her trembling mouth in shock unable to pry her eyes away. She started to shake letting tears drops to the floor.

"Don't worry Nami-san, Zoro will be fine. You know how stubborn that marimo can be!" His attempt to comfort her was futile but he needed to say it out loud anyways. It felt like Sanji was the one who needed to hear it the most. 'Damn you shitty swordsman making my Nami-san cry... When you're all better I'm going to kick your ass!'

Chopper was crying along with Nami treating his wounds in between sniffles. It took what seemed like an eternity for his body to finally be able to pass for human. Chopper took the bandages wrapping it tightly around every inch of the swordsman carefully.

"This is all I can do for now... The rest is up to Zoro." The doctor took another saddened glance at the lifeless green haired man before putting his equipment away. The pained expression was now constant on Zoro's face as his breathing got louder and more forced. He was panting constantly and Sanji knew that wasn't a good sign.

'Shit... I hate worrying about you. Damn bastard, get better quickly!' He kept his eyes on Zoro thinking that his loud breaths where better then not breathing at all.

"Someone needs to be watched Zoro at all times for the first couple of days just in case something happens." He tried to word it nicely but it still came out grimly shooting the worst case scenario into everybody's mind. Nami shuttered at the thought and quickly volunteered to take the first shift.

"I'll watch him first since Sanji-kun has to make supper." The navigator smiled sadly placing the bloody rags in the bucket next to the bed. She sat down on the stool at Zoro's bedside getting comfortable. "You should get some rest, doctor Chopper."

Chopper immediately blushed starting to dance and clap out of the room. "Calling me doctor won't make me happy! Idiot! Bastard!" He practically sung the insults as he danced out the door.

"He sure looked happy." Sanji grinned focusing his gaze back on Nami while picking up the silver bucket. "As soon as I'm done with supper I'll let you rest Nami-san."

"Thank you Sanji-kun!" The navigator said enthusiastically causing Sanji's eyes to form into hearts again.

"Anything for you Nami my dear!" He cooed spinning out the door.

...

"I told you to kill him!" The voice yelled, for the first time actually sounding angry. A demonic, bloodthirsty ring was in it too causing Zoro's head to feel like it's going to explode.

'I already told you I wouldn't! Now go away!' The swordsman snapped back feeling much better than he did before. He whipped his eyes open and shifted them across the dark room as two eyes and a mouth lit up from the darkness. It was like he was inside of a dream world… However, Zoro knew that this was much more than a dream. He could make out the outline of its body but it was completely black blending into the background. Its lips curled up into a cold, devious smile as its gaze pierced through Zoro.

"I know you want to... Wouldn't his blood feel amazing on your hands!?" Its voice got more exited as it looked down on its camouflaged hands which continued to blend in with the darkness.

'I said no! Now shut up!' The pirate hunter didn't back down turning away from the face. He blinked for only a second and when his eyes re-opened the face was a lot closer to him, standing back in his line of vision.

"Soon the cravings with take over you, your bloodlust will become so unbearable that it will be impossible to quench!" It brought its face closer to Zoro's with each word. When he finished it bursted out laughing demonically now opening its mouth wide to reveal fang-like teeth. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head and spun back to the front landing its gaze on Zoro. Over and over again the thing's eyes spun in its head slowly. Zoro still stood unfazed crosses his arms and giving the creature a look of anger and determination.

"You can't hide from your own demon self... Zoro!"

**((Authors Note: I really hope you liked Chapter 2 as much as Chapter 1! Please keep reviewing, I want to make my story as good as possible!Chapter 3 will come out soon!))**


	3. Demon

# Demon

**((Authors Note: Thanks again for all the support! I really appreciate it! The fighting will start up again soon XD Maybe I should let you know now that this isn't a Zoro X Sanji Fanfiction, it's pure nakamaship! I hope you like it!))**

"Do you feel that Kurayami?" A sly voice murmured to his subordinate calmly. The thick, stone pillars that held up the ceiling two mysterious men where under, perfectly covered the man's closed eyes with a shadow casting over his face. The only thing blowing in the night air was his dark, purple hair.

"Yes, I feel it too sir! The aura of a strong demon is near us..." The strong, dedicated voice blurted out bowing down to the purple haired man respectively. The man simply stayed seated on top of the golden thrown keeping the same sly, dark tone in his voice. The man leaned back into the red cushion tilting his head back to look up at the dark black sky which only revealed the full moon from behind the clouds.

"Then the time has finally come..." His lips curled up into a devious smile as he finally opened his eyes to reveal a red, glowing pupils glaring coldly and demonically through the shadows. "He will be mine soon enough... Let's go." The servant rose his head revealing the same cold, glowing red eyes which focused on his master.

"Of course... Master Yusuke..."

...  
Robin shut her calm, blue eyes placing her smooth hands gently on her crossed legs finally finishing her story. "That's everything that happened..." Usopp, Franky and Brook's faces where once again full of terror unable to imagine their swordsman doing something so dark and merciless.

"I-I know Zoro is scary sometimes... But this...?" Usopp looked at the ground gripping his legs tightly to stop their trembling. The straw Hats could hear the grass on the deck rustling loudly underneath the sniper's shaking feet. Robin peered over to Luffy who was sitting cross legged, facing the white wall of the sunny. The archeologist could tell that Luffy was listening to her story intently as if trying to believe that it was real. He never turned around with a goofy grin on his face, he never ran around or interrupted her story. He just sat quietly watching the wall.

Chopper was acting quite similar. He didn't take his gaze away from the ground watching the grass blow in the ocean wind as Robin told the story. His eyes where covered during everything Zoro did so he didn't know what happened exactly. The doctor couldn't believe what he missed, their swordsman did all that and he was right there but he had no idea. The only thing he could make out through Robin's hands was blood curling screams and the sound of Zoro's cold, dark voice.

"What Zoro-san did was truly surprising to hear Robin-san..." The skeleton looked down at the ground feeling the heavy silence and the depressing mood of the room. "So surprising... It made my skin crawl... Even though, I don't have any skin! Yohohoh! Skull joke!" Brook gestured towards his face laughing to lighten the mood.

Luffy couldn't help but slip a laugh finally turning around with the goofy grin they all craved. "Zoro will be fine! He's strong!" The Straw Hats nodded with a smile and the room dropped back into silence. Franky took the opportunity and placed his arms together to create a blue star yelling in a proud, exited tone.

"Ow! You'll never believe the SUPER invention I created while you were gone!" Luffy, Chopper and Usopp's eyes lit up running over in excitement.

"A new invention!?" The three yelled in unison, their eyes practically sparkling in anticipation.

Robin giggled tuning out the boy's voices to opening up her book again. She leaned back on the lounge chair taking one last glance at the night sky before continuing to read her book. Things where slowly getting back to normal, she hoped it would stay that way. Even if it was just for a little while longer...

...  
Sanji rolled up the white sleeves on his clean dress shirt grabbing a knife out of the block and spinning it graciously on his fingers before starting to cut the carrot in front of him. When he cut it as far as he could be put down the knife to take out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. He placed the cigarette in his mouth using one hand to block the wind as the other lite it up. He took a slow deep breath of the tobacco feeling his nerves slightly slip away. "That's much better."

He looked back down at the meal continuing to cook. 'What could be going on with Zoro? That wasn't like him...' The flash of what happened hit his mind again, causing the cook's hands to freeze up. He took another breath of smoke calming himself down once again. 'He'll be fine... Why am I even worried about that shitty swordsman!?' He cursed under his breath sprinkling the finishing touches on the soup he made. Sanji smiled stepping back to look at the amazing meal he created knowing with their captain it would be gone in an instant. He placed the soup on the table along with the other meat, vegetables and pasta he prepared for supper. "Oi mina! Dinner's ready!"

...  
Nami kept her clima tact tightly gripped in her shaking hands. The blue metal clicked against the stool she was sitting on with each tremble. She had been watching Zoro for a while now and with each passing minute she became more and more nervous. 'Something's wrong! That dark aura keeps coming back! How didn't I notice it sooner!?' The navigator thought to herself as her brown eyes scanned Zoro's body over and over again staying on guard. She was expecting her own nakama to try to kill her!? The whole idea made Nami uncomfortable but she didn't know what to believe anymore. He already tried to kill her once... After what she saw, after what he did. How could she not expect him to do it again? She didn't understand what was going on, but it scared her either way. The orange haired woman shook her head vigorously trying to stop shaking, trying to stop playing that same nightmare over and over again in her mind. The nightmare that was too real to be a dream...

"Bloodlust..." Zoro whispered unconsciously as a cold smirk broke across his face. Nami shuttered gripping her weapon even tighter as if she was trying to crush the blue metal. "Demon..." He whispered darkly once again. The dark aura around the pirate hunter got stronger making Nami scramble out of her stool and back up to the other side of the room getting as far away from his as possible.

"Demon!?" She shrieked in confusing and terror pressing her back up against the wall. "Did you just say demon?" The cat burglar questioned in a shaky, quiet voice thinking the swordsman was somehow awake and talking.

"You can't hide..." His voice was getting louder and colder with each word when he suddenly sprung out of bed gripping Nami's throat with inhuman strength. With a screech the woman kicked dropping her clima tact on the floor grasping her small delicate hands around Zoro's muscular arm trying to pry it off. Water flowed out of her eyes as they met her nakama's cold, red ones causing terror and desperation to take over her surprised expression.

"P-Please!" She managed to choke out before her hands dropped swinging at her sides. Before Nami lost consciousness completely a hard kicking made contact with Zoro's head causing him to drop the navigator and go flying into the book shelf with a huge crash.

"What do you think you're doing to Nami-san!?" Sanji yelled angrily. He quickly turned over to Nami who was gasping for air once again whipping the saliva off the side of her petrified face.

"Th-Thank you... Sanji-kun." Nami whispered in between gasps. Both of them turned to the motionless Zoro lying underneath the book shelf with scattered, ripped books all over the wood ground around him.

"Nami-san... Supper is ready. Go to the kitchen and I'll take over watching Zoro." Sanji didn't take his eyes off of the pirate hunter speaking to Nami in a rare serious tone he almost never used with her. After a small pause, the navigator nodded weakly whipping the remaining tears out of her eyes as she slipped out of the medical room door.

When he knew she was gone he lifted the heavy book case off of the swordsman's painful looking body picking him up gently and placing him back on the bed. 'We shouldn't let Nami-san or Usopp watch Zoro alone seeing what he did here... Damn I'm going to kick that guy into next week when he wakes up, for hurting Nami-san!' The cook clenched his fists feeling no anger towards Zoro despite what he was thinking, he somehow knew this wasn't him. It was something else... But what?

...  
The swordsman placed his hand over his face clenching it tightly when he realized that he was back in that dark place. He just tried to kill his nakama again, if Sanji hadn't come in time he would have done it! He dropped to his knees bending over and closing his eyes tightly. Guilt twisted into his face and stomach as Zoro clenched his fist punching the ground with all his might. Blood trickled from his knuckles as he pounded the black floor countless times.

"Damn, he got in our way..." The voice echoed sounding disappointed this time. Zoro lifted his head and narrowed his eyes seeing the lit up face right in front of his, bending down to match his gaze. "That's too bad, well there's always next time." The green haired man didn't back away, he narrowed his eyes angrily pressing his forehead against the creepy face.

'There will be no next time! He didn't get in "our" way he got in YOUR way!' Zoro yelled angrily pressing harder against the thing's forehead. It only gave a sick, twisted grin back to Zoro stating excitably and darkly once again.

"I am you Zoro! I'm what you really want! I'm how you really are! I'm you bloodlust! Your inner demon!" Despite its sickeningly excited demeanour there was still a sense of anger coming from the shadow figure at Zoro's sudden defiance. "I'll prove to you that it's pointless to defy me!" The thing stuck its black hand into the swordsman's already painfully injured stomach causing Zoro to cough up blood and grunt in pain. He hunched over widening his eyes finding himself unable to breath. The thing pulled its arm out slowly from the swordsman's already aching body. "I'll break you Zoro, you'll see soon who is really in control!" Unexpectedly the pirate hunter grabbed the thing's bloodied arm yanking the thing's face down to eye level.

'I don't break' He growled loudly and determinedly, refusing to give into the pain. He stared into the thing's eyes intensely as blood trickled down his face. The thing looked back at Zoro seemingly disgusted at his statement.

"We'll see about that..." Its face turned back to a menacing grin as Zoro's eyes started to blur. The swordsman felt like all of the energy was being drained from his body as he tried to force his eyes to stay open. He tried with all of his might to keep them from shutting but the exhaustion as well as the pain in his stomach was too much for him to handle after everything that he's been through. After a moment more of futile resistance, Zoro's remaining consciousness slipped away once again leaving nothing but darkness in his mind.

...  
It had been quite a while after Nami left the room and Zoro had not said a word. Though talking while unconscious was obviously not a good thing the silence was still unsettling for Sanji. The cook was actually getting a bit worried that he may have kicked the injured swordsman a little bit too hard since Zoro had talked while unconscious ever since this whole ordeal started. It seemed that the marimo was still alright when he had placed him back on the bed, he had held back the power of his kick quite a bit after all knowing how injured he was. Though he had no new head injuries… he did crash into the bookshelf pretty hard. Sanji was thinking that he should maybe go get Chopper to check on him but before he could get up to do so the swordsman finally spoke again.

"In our way..." Zoro mumbled darkly under his raspy breath. Sanji's eyes widened seeing blood stain forming on his unconscious nakama's stomach bandaging dripping down onto the already crimson bed. "Blood..." He mumbled coldly again. The swordsman coughed up blood twitching in pain bringing both his hands up to his head. Sanji noticed that one of his knuckles where bloodied even though he was just lying there without moving. The pirate hunter covered his desperate looking face gripping it tightly as if in pain... No that wasn't it, he was struggling. Blood dropped onto the floor of the medical room from the bed forming another small puddle. More of the red liquid slid down the swordsman's face as his fingers separated to reveal a determined look replacing his previous desperate one. "Control..." He said with the same cold, dark tone as before but soon after the dark aura that was surrounding him faded. He relaxed his grip as his hands slid down to his sides. Zoro's face twisted up in pain once again as his hands gripped the bed covers so tightly it looked like he was trying to hold on for his life.

'What's going on!? These injuries weren't there before! They appeared out of thin air!' Sanji knew something was wrong. That the words he was saying while unconscious had to have meaning somehow. He shook the thoughts out of his head quickly knowing there was no time to think about that now. Zoro was losing even more blood and that could be fatal. He bursted out the door yelling down to his nakama on the deck. It seems that they were done eating supper already which wasn't surprising in the least. "Chopper! Come up quick!" His voice was desperate and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the worried look off of his face.

The little doctor snapped out of his silly mood switching back into the professional, serious doctor they all depended on. Even if Sanji was calling to Chopper the rest of crew's eyes shifted up to the cook looking with confusion and worry. The Straw Hats knew if Sanji was so worried about Zoro something had to be seriously wrong. They all wanted to burst in to see what's wrong but they knew they would to only get in the way. So they only watched Chopper run quickly into the medical room as Sanji followed close behind.

The reindeer slid to a stop seeing new blood forming on fresh, untreated injuries. "What did you do Sanji!?" He swallowed hard seeing his nakama gripping the bed covers so tightly, the reindeer thought they would rip. Chopper came to the same conclusion as Sanji. The swordsman's face and body looked like he was struggling, but what was he struggling to do? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind pulling out his medical gear once again wrapping Zoro's bloody knuckles and stitching his stomach.

"I didn't do anything! They just appeared there!" Sanji yelled back annoyed that Chopper would think he'd fight his injured nakama. He knew his explanation made no sense which is why there was so much hesitation in his voice. He didn't know how to explain what had happened because he didn't know himself.

The doctor sighed putting his tools away once he treated the new injures and gave Zoro some pain killers. When everything was away, Chopper examined Zoro's hands, seeing that they were seemingly gripping the sheets for his life. Worry still flooded him even though the doctor treated his injuries, even though he knew his nakama was strong. "Injuries don't just appear on unconscious patients." Chopper didn't take his eyes of Zoro's shaking hands for even a moment almost in a trance for some reason. There was a long pause in the room and Sanji got worried that there was something wrong with little doctor.

"Oi, is everything ok?" Sanji narrowed his eyes seeing that the aura wasn't flickering on and off anymore. It was just fluctuating from strong to weak. This gave Sanji a very bad feeling.

Chopper saw the aura but quickly brushed it off, even though the aura hurt the doctor while he was close to it he knew that making sure that all of Zoro's injuries were treated was more important than addressing that at the moment. "Everything is fine." He said quickly and jumped off the stool. "I treated the new injuries… If he seems to be in pain tell me and I'll give him some more painkillers." He said before running towards the door. He tried to act natural and placed a smile on his face so Sanji wouldn't worry, acting exited to play with Usopp and Luffy again. "Tell me if anything else happens Sanji!" He smiled walking out of the room and swinging the wooden door tightly shut with a slight bang.

Sanji looked at the door for a couple of seconds smiling slightly at the little doctor's attempt to stop him from worrying and getting lost in thought. His eyes opened a bit widely and his smile faded when, he looked back over at Zoro who was now muttering something repeatedly to himself… it was a very unsettling mutter that caused Sanji's heart to pound faster in his chest.

The swordsman's hands suddenly loosened from the bedsheets beside him and his face relaxed from its previous struggled expression. Something was definitely wrong… the aura around Zoro was way too strong now and he could feel a devouring feeling throughout his body even though he was standing a good distance away. His mind raced as he debated what to do, he had a feeling that Zoro was going to go berserk again and very soon. He had a feeling that the fact that the swordman was no longer struggling meant that whoever was lying on that bed was no longer Zoro.

Sanji's gaze shifted to the door once again as he thought to himself. The first thought was that he was glad that Chopper had left when he did… The last thing the cook wanted was for him to get hurt. He debated on going to get Luffy for assistance but decided against it. He didn't think Luffy would have the heart to hurt his nakama, especially when Zoro was in such a weak state. However, he was different. He fought with Zoro all the time… they were rivals after all so for some reason he thought that would make it easier for him to fight the swordsman… Even if he still cared about him.

While he was debating all of this in his mind, Sanji felt a crushingly strong dark aura closer than it should be. He whipped his eyes over to the still crimson stained bed revealing that it was completely empty. He took a hard gulp, turning around slowly to reveal his injured nakama standing weakly upright. Shadows covered over his eyes but Sanji could still tell something was seriously wrong. "Hey moss head... Isn't it a little early to be out of bed?" He sounded very grim and sarcastic knowing it wasn't Zoro standing in front of him, it couldn't be Zoro.

"Er...o-co...ok..." Zoro choked out again still finding that it was painful to speak. A surprised, still terrified look took over he cook's face as his mouth gaped open unable to find words to say. It sounded like Zoro but... That dark aura, and those cold, lifeless eyes... That emotionless face that ran on pure instinct... It was all there. So what was going on? It was Zoro... But it wasn't Zoro.

"I… I can't… control my… b-body…" Zoro said weakly, suddenly sounding even more terrified than the cook looked. "R-R...un..." Sanji's stomach curled up into a knot as Zoro desperately grabbed his face. The cook could see his eyes flickering vigorously between dark, cold red and their original determined, focused dark green. Only the original eyes where masked over in desperation. The blond put a hand on his sickly nakama's bandaged shoulder feeling pain rush to his hand. It felt like it was being crushed, burned... And devoured. 'Is that weird dark aura around Zoro doing this!?' He winced slightly getting a hold of himself.

"What do you mean run you shitty swordsman!? What's happening to you!?" He didn't have to fake the anger and annoyance this time at least. Sanji gripped the swordsman's shoulder tighter waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Sa...nj...i...!" He coughed out again sounding more desperate a worried then before. The dark aura suddenly got stronger forcing the cook to rip his hand away, yelling in pain. Sanji grabbed his throbbing hand in shock not knowing what just happened. The blonde's heart suddenly dropped at the realization that Zoro called him by his actual name which he has almost never done from the very beginning. Also, when he did call him by his name it never sounded like that. It sounded like Zoro was worried, like he was almost begging Sanji to run. Begging? Zoro doesn't beg... The only words he could use was that it sounded so desperate, and struggled. Suddenly Zoro broke out into a bloodthirsty smirk licking his lips and starting to chuckle darkly.

"Zo...ro...?" Sanji didn't know what to think anymore. The cook jumped back watching Zoro closely as the swordsman lowered his hand from his face slowly.

"I'll break you..." The swordsman sneered coldly reaching his hand slowly outwards towards Sanji. He knew for sure it wasn't Zoro this time and the blond was thanking Nami a million times over for putting Zoro's swords in another room. The cook lowered his centre of gravity getting ready to defend himself the swordsman's entire body started shaking harshly. "I... to...ld... y-you be...fore... I d-don't break!" The green haired man's desperate voice suddenly broke through as he used his other hand to grasp the one reaching for Sanji and pull it back down to his side. The aura was finally fading again, enough for Sanji to get close.

"What's going on marimo!?" The cook hesitantly stepped forward thinking that his nakama was going to attack him but nothing came. Zoro only fell to his knees bending over and hitting his head against the ground repeatedly. "Oi Zoro!" Sanji's voice got louder and more worried still moving hesitantly towards his nakama.

This was stupid... He couldn't figure out why he was being so hesitant. It was Zoro, the shitty swordsman that he fights with all the time. He didn't know why but every time he got closer his heart would start pounding faster and faster telling him desperately to run away. It's like he couldn't trust the friend that had his back this whole time anymore, there was always this doubt that he'd turn into that thing again... that demon, and try to kill him. He knew he could trust Zoro with his life, but he also knew that the thing would kill him in an instant.

The banging finally came to a stop as Zoro rasped for breath once again panting quick, shallow breaths. He stayed looking crouched over on the ground for a while until the swordsman finally raised his head, scrambling and struggling to get up again. He was back to normal, his eyes were his and the aura was gone. The cook held back a smile while he placed two fingers gently around the cigarette in his mouth. Sanji exhaled smoke placing the tobacco back in his mouth and looking back down at his nakama. He waited knowing that Zoro needed to try to get up on his own at least once or twice before he'd consent to some help. To his surprise the swordsman made it to one knee but once he tried placing his other foot down he legs gave out making Zoro smack into the ground.

"You done yet idiot?" Sanji took another deep breath of tobacco exhaling it while talking. Zoro gritted his teeth together curling his hands into fists and swearing in frustration under his breath. The cook knew Zoro well enough to know that was a yes and walked towards his nakama quickly placing Zoro's arm over the cook's shoulder to help him up. Sanji could tell that Zoro didn't like being helped, even if he obviously needed it. Sanji placed him gently on the bloody bed once again sighing deeply with the cigarette in his mouth. "Pain in the ass..." He muttered to himself lowly acting like he didn't want the swordsman to hear, even if he obviously did.

Zoro's eyes shifted away from Sanji refusing to look in his direction. The swordsman was surprisingly still conscious even though it seemed like he was still half asleep. The room loomed in silence for a while until Sanji couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. "What's going on with you Zoro?" The swordsman twitched in recognition at his words, extending his gaze even farther away from the cook.

"I... Do...n't... Kn..ow..." He muttered softly and sadly not knowing what else to say. He couldn't explain himself, even if he decided to the cook would never believe him. Especially since he had trouble believing it himself. Zoro noticed his vision getting hazier but forced himself to remain conscious. 'If I lose consciousness again he might take over...!' However, yet again his vision got blurry and his eyelids closed against his will.

"Well that's damn helpful shitty swordsman..." Sanji snapped sarcastically and annoyed. "Man you're an idiot!" The cook sighed connecting all the pieces together in his head. 'What the idiot has said so far while he's been unconscious was...' The cook searched through his memory remembering but still unable to place the pieces together. He snapped out of his train of thought seeing his nakama unconscious once again. 'Let's just hope that doesn't happen again now...' The sound of a door being opened almost caused Sanji to jump. Standing in the doorway was the tanned, slim assassin walking calmly through the door.

"Is everything alright in here? I heard banging." The archeologist asked scanning the situation and seeing that Zoro was still in bed. "Did he attack you…?" She asked after seeing that Zoro's forehead was bloody, taking a step into the room to get a closer look at the swordsman.

"No he didn't attack me." Sanji stated truthfully, Zoro was able to fight back this time and stop himself before he attacked. "Everything is alright, we should just put some bandages over Zoro's head to stop the bleeding." The cook suggested, grabbing the bandages and wrapping the swordsman's head tightly.

"If you say so… I can take over now if you'd like, Sanji." She smiled calmly taking some of the worry out of Sanji. His eyes turned to hearts as he quickly twirled closer to her. He knew that Robin was strong and could deal with Zoro if he lost control again.

"You're so kind Robin-chwan!" He spun away letting the girl sit down. "Would you like me to make you anything Robin-chan?" The cook smiled flirtatiously.

"That's alright, just get some rest." The archeologist turned to Zoro studying him intensely. Sanji nodded glancing back at the two of them before closing the door and stepping out into the fresh summer air. He knew what he had to do, Nami was with Zoro when he lost control so maybe he said something that could give them some clues. Also, there was only one person who could understand this situation. The one person who knew Zoro better than anyone, who may even know Zoro better then he knows himself... Luffy.

Sanji shoved his hands in his pockets spitting out the cigarette from his mouth and onto the deck, stomping out the flames. He could hear Luffy's yelling and laughing even in the medical room, now since he was outside it was just louder and more annoying. He made his way to the grassy deck where Usopp, Luffy and Chopper where sitting on the edge of the Sunny, fishing off the boat. Nami-san was sitting on a lounge chair beside them, reading the newspaper. Sanji was glad that she seemed to have calmed down from what happened earlier.

He walked calmly over to the four of them casually leaning against the railing when his captain noticed his presence and shouted over to him. "Oi Sanji you're just in time! When we catch something, cook it up into super yummy food!" The captain grinned not taking his eyes off the water.

"Ya! I'm going to catch something huge!" Usopp smiled nodding at his prediction. Sanji remained silent almost whispering to his nakama.

"Luffy, Nami... Can I talk to you?" The raven haired boy and the navigator sensed the seriousness in their nakama's voice. Making Luffy's rare wise move so he wouldn't worry his friends, he put on another big goofy grin turning to Sanji and saying childishly, and cheerfully.

"Ok!" He bounced off the railing placing his pole down on the ground and skipping merrily to the kitchen. "I'll be right back guys!" Nami closed the paper placing it on the lounge chair she was sitting on before and following their captain out not questioning anything. Sanji let them pass quickly turning around to follow his nakama into the kitchen. When they were finally alone Luffy's grin dropped into a more serious expression closing his eyes and starting to talk intensely. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sanji looked at the empty wooden table placed beside the quiet kitchen answering dryly. "Zoro..." He paused seeing Luffy look at him in realization of what this was about. "You saw it too didn't you?" The two of them paused once again having flashes of what he did to that marine, and what he tried to do to Nami. The mood in the room sunk to this grim feel as the air thickened around them.

"It's happened before, but it's never gotten this out of hand." Luffy looked up at the ceiling as Sanji's eyes widened. Luffy was saying that this had happen before, and yet nobody has noticed but him? Or maybe they did notice, but they didn't want to say anything to worry the others. "His gaze would go cold, or his eye would glow red, or there would be a dark aura around him... But it was always only for a split second. Also, he was always in control of himself." The captain thought back to those times.

He was right, Zoro had always been like that. He has been able to scare enemies away with that same cold, killer glare freezing all of his enemies on the spot. He's always been in control, but now that he thinks about it... That darkness inside Zoro has been getting stronger. Sanji remembered Zoro's fight with Kaku, how he actually turned into a demon, having a dark aura, full of blood lust and rage turning him into a demon with 3 heads and 6 arms so he could defeat his opponent. That had never happen before, until then.

"It's always been like that but I could tell that this dark thing was getting stronger and stronger each day. So it was only a matter of time until this happened." The captain seemed to read Sanji's mind. He had that childish, yet serious tone he used when talking about things like this.

"So do you know what this is Luffy? Do you know what's going on?" Sanji held back his desperation to know so he could sound more curious then worried in front of his captain.

"I don't know... It's like he turns into a demon." Luffy said that so seriously, so grimly it made Sanji shiver. What he said was so childish, but yet... He was thinking the same thing, they all where. It was the only explanation. He was right, Zoro was like a ruthless demon when it happened. His captain couldn't have been more right, but Sanji still couldn't believe it. Something hit the two of them like a wrecking ball in an instant remembering the rumours they heard about pirate hunter Zoro. How he was like a demon disguised as a human. They didn't know if it meant anything, but it was worth keeping in mind.

Nami's eyes widened at the recognition of that word. Her whole body shook and she finally spoke up to the two of them. "Zoro said that..." He clenched her fists holding back the tears in her eyes remembering how she was attacked twice, and was almost killed by her friend. "Zoro said that when he was unconscious! He said the word demon!" Luffy and Sanji's eyes widened looking at Nami completely frozen.

After the long pause in realization and what they had just discovered the three of them where interrupted when they heard the scream of their long nosed nakama back out on the deck. The three of them looked at each other strangely and barged through the kitchen door.

"Usopp!?" Luffy yelled looked around the deck. His eyes locked into a slim, purple haired man wearing a devious smirk on his face. On his right side was a tall dark skinned, muscular man with dark black hair looking seriously back at him. The first thing he noticed where their cold, red eyes that matched Zoro's completely when he lost control. They even had that same dark, aura around them. The Raven haired boy saw his long nosed nakama trembling wile pointing his sling shot at the two men.

"Now, now relax my dear Straw Hats... I'm not here to kill you or anything, I'll have someone else do that." The purple haired man paused licking his lips menacingly. The straw hat's hearts dropped at the realization that this man was exactly like Zoro when he turned into that demon. Yusuke placed one of his hands on his chest gracefully gesturing his hand over to the medical room where their swordsman was lying unconscious. "I'm simply here... to awaken Roronoa Zoro!"

**((Authors Note: Da Da Da! I like the sly enemies in anime a lot as you can see haha. I'm aiming for Yusuke to be like a Hisoka, Aizen, Orochimaru mix! I hope i did a good job! Please keep reviewing, I want to make my story as good as possible! Chapter 4 will come out as soon as possible!))**


	4. Despair

# Despair

**((Authors Note: Sorry for the weird and sudden edit to you people who have already read it :P i just added something around the end... sorry again! I love all the reviews! Thanks again minna! Again, the Zoro and Sanji stuff is pure nakama ship! (Even though I do admit it's pretty "shippy" X3) I should warn you the brutality in this one shoots up sky high! You have been warned!))**

The grassy deck fell silent and all the worried eyes were locked on the purple haired man. He simply held the same cold smirk slowly putting his hands down by his side. "Who are you!? What do you mean by awaken him?" Luffy finally spoke up in a threatening tone. This amused Yusuke causing him to let out a dark chuckle.

"You'll see what I mean soon enough little boy..." He raised his hand up to his mouth trying to keep back his laughter, bending over and continuing to chuckle demonically. The other straw hats looked at him in disgust and confusion unable to understand what was so amusing. Finally Yusuke calmed down putting his hands by his sides once again revealing the same smirk stretched across his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He took a calm step towards the infirmary when Luffy and Sanji slid in front of him.

"You're the reason why the marimo keeps losing control, aren't you!?" The cook narrowed his eyes gritting his teeth enraged. 'Losing control' was the only way that Sanji could describe what's been happening to his nakama. He didn't know how else to put it, and the other Straw Hats knew that Zoro wasn't doing it because he wanted to. They all knew he was struggling to fight against it.

The cook knew that this man was bad news, he could feel it and it seemed like the rest of his nakama would agree seeing the intense and worried looks on their faces. Something about that man seemed fishy, like he knew something that they don't or like he has some sort of evil scheme... It made him very uneasy.

"Oh? Losing control?" The man's smirk grew wider and his eyes seemed to get colder. He lowered his voice to a dark mumble "I can definitely use him now..." He grinned placing his hands together making a clapping sound. The straw hats where getting more and more jumpy with each movement he made. They were completely focused on Yusuke... Falling into his trap, they made a grave mistake and forgot about the tall assistant that was no longer beside the purple haired man. 'Just as planned.' Yusuke thought coldly with a smile.

Luffy's patience finally ran out stretching his arm far back behind him and sending a punch in Yusuke's direction. "Gum Gum Pistol!" The captain chanted sending his fist flying towards the man who simply stepping out of the way keeping his hands together. Luffy's arm flung back at him slinging to its normal position with a snap.

"Such a pitiful attack..." The demon-like man sneered. That only added fuel to the fire sending Luffy hurdling towards him.

"Gum Gum Rocket!" Yusuke only held out his index finger waving it back and forth mockingly. He jumped over Luffy and sent the rubber man crashing into the wall at the other side of the deck. He gracefully did a flip in the air landing gently back on the grassy deck bellow barley making a sound.

The captain's head was lodged in the hole that he created from crashing into the wall as Luffy places both his hands and feet on the broken wood and pushed against the wall to free his head while making grunting noises from the struggle. With each push the captain's neck stretched and went back to normal until he finally yanked it out of the hole sending the rubber man crashing to the ground from the force. He quickly climbed back to his feet getting back into his fighting stance. "I won't miss you next time..." He threatened in a frustrated tone.

...

Kurayami stood calmly and coldly looking at Zoro's heavily bandaged body. The pirate hunter's hands where still gripping the sheets with all his might with a struggling look edged on his face. "He's fighting back…" The red eyed man sighed in a monotone voice. "We cannot allow his resistance to go on for longer." Kurayami stated, lifting up his hand and condensing his dark aura on each of his fingers. He gently placed his finger tips on Zoro's forehead letting the aura get absorbed into him. The swordsman's face twitched in pain when his hands let go of the blankets and loosely relaxed by his sides. His face relaxed as well and it almost looked as if the swordsman had died, even his chest stopped rising and falling for a minute. "That should do the trick." The man stared coldly and patiently until Zoro had gone completely limp then turned around and kicked the wooden infirmity door open. He walked calmly back to the deck hearing a short, quiet yell coming from behind him and feeling an extremely powerful dark aura surround the swordsman as he left, sending a shiver of excitement down Kurayami's spine.

...

The sky turned reddish, orange as the sun was rising over the ocean's horizon. Suddenly, a thought hit the cook's mind while he watched Luffy fight the purple haired intruder. There were two men before... How could he have forgotten about the other? Where did he go!? Sanji looked around frantically getting lost in thought imagining what he would do to Zoro. 'Awaken him...' He repeated again in his mind as a worried looked crept on his face. His thoughts where quickly cut off by a strong fist colliding with his stomach suddenly. The tall assistant dug his knuckles deeper into Sanji making him cough up blood and grunt in pain. The cook flew back at an amazing speed harshly smashing his head on the wall he was blown to. Blood stained his blond hair and ran down his face leaving puddles bellow him. The blond fell from the wall and smacked onto the floor as broken pieces of wood dropped on him. Dust from the broken wall surrounded Sanji making his worried nakama unable to see him and unable to tell if he was alright.

"We can't have you losing concentration during a fight!" Yusuke stated mockingly with the same icy cold, red eyes as Kurayami who jumped back to his side.

"Sanji!" The Straw Hats shouted desperately trying to get a response from the cook but the only sound was the wind whistling as it passed through the deck. Yusuke started walking calmly to where his assistant blew the cook away with a strong killing intent surrounding him. He stopped in his tracks looking slightly annoyed when Luffy tried another attack. He clenched his fists tightly letting his leg stretch out as he flung it towards the purple haired man's annoying, cocky face.

"Gum Gum Whip!" He chanted once again with confidence and rage in his voice. In a flash, the muscular assistant grabbed Luffy's soft, rubbery leg with ease pulling the rubber man into a strong punch connecting to the captain's squishy face and driving it into the wooden deck with all his might. Luffy's head slammed into the deck causing the wood to break and send pieces of it flying everywhere along with the grass as dust that covered the area blocking another one of their nakama from the Straw Hat's view. Their eyes widened in disbelief seeing how much damage that punch did to their Atom Wood deck, wood that is said to be the strongest in the world. To the crew's surprise their captain let out a yell of pain holding his aching head and rolling around the deck.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled breaking the silence with her shaking voice. All these surprises and worries at once were driving Nami to her limit. "H-He's a rubber man... So why did that punch hurt him?" She questioned staring down the assistant who noticed her intense stare and shot her back a dark, cold glare. She jumped back unable to stop her hands from shaking. His eyes, that aura, his mercilessness... It's their fault; Nami thought that these people had to be responsible for what Zoro's going through. Anger bubbled inside her but quickly turned to panic with the feeling of her heart drop.

She scrambled around searching the ground around her and the rest of the Sunny that was in her line of view, it wasn't there. She looked at the palms of her shaking hands realizing that her clima tact was still in the medical room, Nami must have dropped it when Zoro attacked her, then forgot to pick it up afterwards. She turned her attention to the room and thought of different ways she could possibly get around them, sneak attacks, diversions, simply running for her life to get her weapon but nothing good came to mind. Each scenario or plan she thought of caused the navigator to imagine herself being brutally killed in different ways by those cold, ruthless monsters.

She snapped out of thought when she saw Yusuke standing over and grinning at Sanji who was limply back on his feet wobbling back and forth as he desperately tried to whip the never ending stream of blood out of his eyes. That blow caused him to hit his head hard on the wall, so hard that it probably shattered his skull and made his brain rattle viciously. The impact was so strong that it sent blood gushing down his face. The cook's vision was way too blurry and he was so nauseous it took all his will power not to throw up. He could barely stand, swaying back and forth, feeling sick and out of breath from just keeping his legs from collapsing under him. He couldn't fight but he refused to stay down, that stubbornness was the one thing he had in common with the marimo.

He couldn't just lie down when so much was on the line, his friends, his dream, his nakama's dream... Along with Zoro's sanity. Yusuke brought his face close, too close for comfort in front of the cook's giving Sanji the same cold, evil smirk he had been wearing on his face this entire time. The cook looked back at him with a determined stare, lighting a fire inside of Sanji just by the purple haired man's presence. Yet, that only made Yusuke's smile grow wider. The demon grabbed Sanji's neck to break the stare, throwing the helpless cook into the ground and stepping on his left arm grinding it into the ground underneath his shoe. The cook cried out in pain unable to do anything to fight back as he felt his bone breaking from the man's inhuman strength.

That's when Usopp lifted his sling shot sending one of his special exploding stars towards the demon. At the same time Franky had his left hand hanging off his arms, making it look like they were cut off and hanging by one piece of skin. The inside of his arms wasn't blood or bone though, there where gun holes in a steal arm and Franky let multiple, quick bullets fly at Yusuke.

"Usopp exploding star!"

"Weapons Left!" The two straw hats exclaimed determinedly in unison. Thick, black smoke enveloped around the area where Yusuke was standing. The two thought that it had defiantly hit but then a whip of wind cleared some of the smoke revealing the tall, tanned assistant standing calmly with his arms crossed in front of his master. The man must have jumped in the way just in time to shield his master from the blow. Usopp and Franky looked at each other with an accomplished grin thinking they took out the man's assistant but when the rest of the thick smoke faded into the morning air, giving them a better look, the man continued to stand there calmly. He was completely unaffected by both attacks.

"Weaklings..." He said calmly and coldly. Kurayami slowly started walking over to Usopp forming his hand into a fist and raising it quickly to attack. The others split up to help their nakama having Franky, Robin and Nami run over desperately to save Usopp while Luffy, Chopper and Brook ran over to Yusuke.

The two groups looked at their opponents ready to fight, but the look on Yusuke and Kurayami's faces where triumphant, making seam that the two demons think they have already won. Luffy cringed at their expressions as all his nakama got into their fighting stances looking at the two men angrily.

Yusuke stepped off of Sanji's arm slowly and relaxed, finally relieving the cook's face from the twist of pain rolled in it. The purple haired man's assistant looked at Yusuke and flashed a thumbs up in front of his cold red eyes. The purple haired man's face beamed in happiness jumping back onto the railing of the ship. "I believe it is time to go!" Yusuke sneered mockingly to his assistant who quietly nodded leaping across the entire deck over the straw hats heads and landing next to his master. It was so fast the pirates could only watch as the quickly blur flashed over their heads. "What we came to do has been complete." He smiled continuing on. "We'll be back... Once you reach the point of ultimate despair!" Yusuke said darkly along with a cold chuckle. Luffy widened his eyes pulling back his arm and stretching his rubber knuckle towards the assistant and his master but by the time the rubber fist reached them they had already jumped off the boat and dived into the sea.

Luffy's arm came back with a snap once again as the rubber man ran to the edge of the ship enraged. "Get back here damn it!" He was about to stupidly jump in the water to chase them when Robin's hands sprouted up and grabbed a hold of him. "I don't think that is a good idea captain." Robin stated calmly getting rid of her hands which disappeared leaving small flower pedals dancing in the wind. Luffy stopped giving one last poisonous glance at the water before he turned around to see if everyone was alright.

Sanji was now sitting up holding his bloody head gently with his right arm. Chopper was next to him in a flash checking his heart rate, blood pressure, reflexes until he finally deduced that the cook had a concussion and a broken arm. The little reindeer took clean white bandages out of his bag and carefully wrapped Sanji's bloody head. The cook winced in pain when the bandages touched his wounds but bit down on his lower lip and let the doctor finish. "You have a major concussion." Chopper finally said out loud with a saddened tone. "And your arm is surely broken." He added professionally getting a sling out of his bag and placing it carefully around Sanji's neck. The doctor then took the cook's hand and gently rested it on the sling. Sanji winced again in pain and sighed in relief when Chopper was finally done treating him.

"There were two men..." Sanji said when silence swept the deck. They all stared at him confused thinking that he was out of his mind; he just stated something so blatantly obvious.

"Well... Ya of course." Nami interrupted hesitantly, worried that her nakama had gone insane. "There was the purple haired man, and the tanned assistant." The cook looked up worryingly at the rest of the crew.

"There was only one of them on the deck for a while..." He looked at the ground while a wave of panic struck every person on the ship.

"ZORO!" They all yelled running up to the infirmary. Usopp took Sanji's good arm and placed it over his shoulder to help him along. The cook was still too dizzy to walk on his own despite the though act he put on. Luffy got there first and yanked the door open sending a blast of dark aura towards all of them. That same painful feeling Sanji got before struck him once again and they all jumped back grunting in pain.

"We can't even get in there at this rate! W-What did they do to him!?" Nami shuttered covering her mouth. What if it was too late? What if whatever was taking over Zoro finally went out of control for good? What if their swordsman was lost forever? The thought crossed every single one of their minds causing the Straw Hat's hearts to beat out of their chest, including Brook despite the fact that he didn't have a heart.

"We... We have to do something!" Usopp shrieked knowing if this went on for any longer their nakama would be lost forever. Sanji then stumbled off of Usopp's shoulder and walked towards the door. Luffy took a step forward when Sanji stumbled in front of him.

"I'll take care of that damn marimo... I got some payback I want to give to him." Flashes of Zoro and Sanji's fight against the warlord Kuma flooded his mind. The swordsman had knocked him out and tried to sacrifice himself, to give up his dream and his life to protect everybody... to protect him... Sanji put his hand on the doorknob wincing when he stepped into the aura. It was crushing, and painful just like it was before.

"But Sanji-kun! Your injured." Nami said softly unable to get any closer then she already was. The cook stumbled a little farther in the room looking back at Nami trying to force the same love-stricken tone he usually used, but despite his efforts his words came out forced and worried.

"You're so sweet when you worry Nami-san. I'll be fine..." He gave her a tired smile and turned around stumbling in. The dark aura engulfed him until his nakama could no longer see inside the room. The only thing they could do now was wait and pray.

The cook walker deeper and deeper into the room feeling like his entire body was being crushed, burned and devoured. The closer he got to Zoro the more intense the pain was. He grabbed a hold of different objects in the room to help him move forward without falling over. The pain was becoming almost unbearable by the time Sanji reached his unconscious nakama. The cook was panting heavily and he saw through the darkness Zoro was lying down on the bed grabbing his head tightly. "NAMI! ROBIN!" Zoro yelled painfully with despair riddled in his voice. "NO!" He cried again whimpering softly. "Damn!" The expression on the swordsman's face made Sanji feel panicked. He looked so scared, so sad. Zoro doesn't get scared... He isn't supposed to look like he's in so much pain!

"A... A nightmare?" Sanji looked in horror at his saddened, terrified nakama. "What's going on... moss head?"

...

That monster was suddenly a lot stronger then he was last time. That smiling face with the cold eyes had grown even colder. Its aura felt like it was crushing Zoro no matter how far away he was. 'Looks like you got a little stronger, bastard.' He said with an annoyed tone. For once the dark figure wasn't talking; it was only snickering coldly and looking at Zoro with a dark, demonic glare. The swordsman narrowed his eyes as the figure's huge smiling face bent down to make eye contact with Zoro. The pirate hunter raised his guard getting ready for an attack when an intense pain started pounding in his head. He bent down and grunted grabbing his green hair tightly in his right fist when the dark figure hooked a handcuff onto Zoro's left wrist out of nowhere. He narrowed his eyes at the handcuff and followed its long chain into the darkness where he couldn't see where the other end was attached. He pulled on the chain but no matter how much he tried it wouldn't budge.

"Kill them..." The figure finally said menacingly as usual. Even though the demon was smiling it had this angry fire in its eyes. Zoro grunted making a 'tsk' sound and looked away.

'I told you I won't hurt my nakama!' The green haired man announced determined and enraged. Why wouldn't this thing just give up already? It was annoying... And it was getting stronger. He didn't know how much longer he could keep rejecting it like he was.

"But you already have... Twice." It sneered. Its smile grew watching as Zoro's face twisted up in guilt and his eyes dropped to the ground. He clenched his fists squeezing his eyes shut and answered that demon with frustration in his voice. "Not to mention-"

'I know that!' Zoro shouted to cut the figure off. When he did there was a small pause as Zoro took another deep breath and tried to move his wrist to break out of the handcuff. 'I won't let it happen again.' The swordsman shot the demon a poisonous stare which seemed to piss off the figure.

Even though there was nothing there Zoro felt a sudden wave of pain run through his entire body. It felt like it was electricity that ran up the handcuff shocking Zoro's already injured body with a high voltage bolt of lightning. The swordsman yelled coughing up blood and tried to figure out what the source of the pain was, though all of his thinking as futile. He recognized the feeling from when he was electrocuted by Eneru, except it seems this handcuff had a higher voltage. The demon kept the electricity-like pain pumping until Zoro's legs eventually gave in and the swordsman collapsed onto the dark ground. While he was unable to move and shaking in pain, the demon hooked the rest of Zoro's chains on against the swordsman's will. He was too injured to fight back...

The swordsman finally collected himself, raising his head to see that the demon bound his hands uncomfortably behind his back with thick steel pillars that wrapped around his entire arm and tied them both together. Heavy chains where rapped around both of Zoro's legs as well and all the bindings lead to inside the darkness.

"You will kill everybody... I know you want to..." The demon repeated. He seemed so amused by the new abilities he was given. Zoro was literally burning up with anger now, pushing his arms outwards but he soon found out that the steel was insanely strong and impossible to break.

'I don't!' Zoro yelled back wanting to cut the thing to pieces. The demon laughed at his threatening tone pointing to the space in front of Zoro to draw his attention there.

"You do. You just have to stop resisting the urge, stop resisting what you really want, what you really are!" The swordsman looked ahead of him acting like he didn't hear what the figure said to him. "I have a very special treat for you today..." The demon continued, coldly and darkly leaving a threatening vibe in the air. "I am going to show you exactly what you want to see!"

There was a very small light in all the darkness; just enough to see what was going on there. 'What are you-?' He stopped mid-question as eyes widened when he saw Nami and Robin standing happily next to each other, talking. He tilted his head wondering what they were doing in his dream world. It was like the two of them had no idea where they were... They were acting like they were still on the deck of the ship.

They started giggling at something Nami said when suddenly a slash skinned the two of them across both their backs. The swordsman's eyes widened even more as the two women coughed up blood and fell to their knees. 'NAMI! ROBIN!' He yelled out but the two girls didn't even notice him. Another slash sent the skin off both their stomachs flying, leaving only muscle and blood showing. The two of them screeched in pain as blood leaked out all around them.

"H-H...el...p... M...e... Z...o...r...o...!" Nami cried as tears ran down her face uncontrollably. Robin had the same pleading expression as her own tears started pouring out of her eyes. The slashes came back skinning Zoro's two nakama piece by piece starting with their stomach, then arms, then legs. They continued screaming and crying calling out Zoro's name and begging him for help. He struggled desperately trying to break out of the chains but they were only tightening the more he struggled.

'Stop it!' He continued yelling feeling completely helpless and infuriated. He needed to do something, he couldn't just watch helplessly as his two nakama being brutally skinned to death! Zoro was thrashing with all of his might and he started to panic when he remembered where he was… This was his inner world. It was impossible for them to be in here. The demon even said that he is just showing him something… So… It was just an illusion… That's all it was. Just a sick image that was being put into his head. He just had to remember that it wasn't really his nakama in front of him.

Zoro forced his expression to become calm, not wanting to show such a weakness at a time like this. Pieces of flesh sat in giants pools of blood surrounding the two girls. The only skin they had left on their body was their chest and hands. The rest was bloodied muscle and a small amount of bone showing in some places. 'Stop this already…' He stated softly. Even if he knew it was an illusion it was still so hard to watch. The slashes began skinning them finger by finger despite the fact that they had already died from blood loss. The swordsman's body started to shake as he tried to keep his calm expression. 'Just an illusion… An illusion.' Zoro kept on repeating to himself as he tried to control his emotions.

The bodies of his two nakama were thrown away out of Zoro's sight only leaving blood stains and pieces of skin behind. 'What did-?' The swordsman stuttered trying to stop his body from shaking. However, at this point his whole body was shaking uncontrollably, two of his nakama where just brutally killed in front of him and he couldn't do a thing… that was horrifying… even if it was only an illusion.

"Wasn't that splendid? I know you enjoyed it!" The figure said coldly and mockingly. Zoro was too shaken up to answer. He just kept quiet while his body continued to shake. "If you're upset that it's over you don't have to worry." He continued, licking his lips. "The show is just beginning!" Its grin grew wider as Brook and Usopp stepped in front of them staring at the blood in terror. Usopp started shaking when Brook spoke up to calm him down.

"I'm sure that Nami-san and Robin-san are ok Usopp-san!" Brook said sounding as classy and upbeat as ever. When Zoro saw them his eyes widened in terror thinking the same thing will happen to them as well.

'No! Don't! Not them too! DON'T!' He threatened, struggling frantically kicking his legs and prying his arms outwards. He didn't think he could take watching something like that again. With all of his struggling the thing squeezed tightly making the swordsman's shoulders get pulled behind him and dislocate. He yelled and coughed in pain, continuing to struggle. Once Zoro caught his breath he yelled out as loud as he could to them. 'Usopp, Brook! RUN!'

Despite his yelling the two of them didn't hear anything. They continued to talk and look around. The longer they were there, the louder the swordsman's heart pounded. 'NAMI AND ROBIN DIED! RUN OR YOU'LL BE NEXT!' He was screaming at the top of his lungs but they still couldn't hear him. 'Damn it... Why?' He clenched his fists closing his eyes and gritting his teeth together. 'Why can't they hear me?' Zoro muttered to himself wanting more than anything for this demon to let him go. The swordsman's eyes snapped open when he heard the sniper's shrieking scream. He opened his eyes to see countless arms of darkness holding Usopp and Brook against their will.

"H-help! I don't want to die!" The musician pauses looking at Usopp and laughing. "Even though I'm already dead! YOHOHOHO!" With one fatal snap Brook's bone finger bent back and snap in two leaving Brook screaming in pain.

'This isn't time to joke around! You're going to die!' Zoro yelled as Usopp's second finger was snapped back and broken. The sniper yelled in pain as his ring finger dangled next to his pinky finger. One by one the dark hands broke each one of their fingers leaving the straw hats yelling in pain and begging for Zoro to save them as well, just like the two girls did. The swordsman started shaking again yelling at the demon enraged. 'Stop! Stop it now! I've had enough of this stupid illusion! Damn it! I'll kill you!' The pirate hunter squirmed some more but instead of the chains tightening like usual, the demon hands snapped the sniper's arm breaking the bone in half.

"Now, now, if you squirm my hands might slip!" The sniper yelled in pain as tears rolled down the long nosed man's face.

'Damn you! Stop that!' He yelled angry making sure not to move this time. Despite Zoro's efforts the demon snapped Brook's arm in half having it roll onto the floor. He yelled in pain as well and Zoro shuttered hearing the blood the curing scream. 'STOP! I DIDN'T MOVE! Why did you-!?' There went Usopp's leg, bending it backwards and causing in to scream again.

"Stop please!" Usopp begged crying. "I'm sorry for whatever I did!" The sniper cried harder scared when his other arm was snapped in two. He yelled again as he bawled even harder. Both Usopp and Brook had all four limbs of theirs broken along with every finger. Tears ran down both of their faces when the dark hands grabbed a hold of two ends of their bodied forcing them to curl backwards.

'No don't! You're going to break their spi-!' He was cut off again by a loud snapping sound as Usopp and Brook's spines where snapped in two leaving them bent over in the complete wrong direction. Loud screams of pain bursted out of the two of them but was quickly silenced after a couple of seconds. The swordsman was speechless as the arms threw both on them down to the ground. Brook being deduced to a pile of severed bones and Usopp being completely mangled and turned the wrong way. Finally the arms grabbed the heads of their unconscious bodies slowly twisting them.

'They're already unconscious! Stop it!' Zoro pleaded refusing to keep the enraged tone in his voice out and once again struggling to loosen the chain's grip. Another snapping sound echoed while Brook's head rolled away, Usopp's was turned in the complete opposite direction. The two of them stopped breathing immediately. 'USOPP! BROOK!' He yelled while his voice wavered and broke. Four of his nakama where brutally murdered in front of his eyes, each pleading for him to save them and he couldn't do anything protect any of them. He couldn't take this illusion anymore… He just couldn't.

"What a bunch of worthless cowards..." The figure said sighing in disappointment. He kept the same sick smile on his face through all of this, and that comment just made Zoro snap. His eyes grew colder but kept their same colour.

'How dare you say they're cowards!?' The swordsman pushed even harder and he felt the chains move outwards slightly and almost lost grip of him. It quickly sent a strong shock of pain through Zoro causing the pirate hunter to yell out in agony once again. The demon quickly stopped the pain before Zoro passed out, leaving him hunched over and gasping for breath.

"That was close." It sneered darkly chuckling to itself. "We can't have you falling asleep half way through the show!" Just like the girls, the two of them were thrown into the darkness, out of Zoro's sight only leaving their blood and tears. The voices of Zoro's nakama calling out to the swordsman desperately asking for help echoed in Zoro's head driving him insane. He stayed hunched over feeling his gaze continuing to get colder while his eye colour started flashing red. He squeezed his eyes shut continuing to tell himself that it was just an illusion… That nothing was real.

The swordsman didn't get much time to collect his thoughts and recover though. Next, Chopper and Franky walked panicked in front of Zoro searching around. Chopper spotted the blood and tears came to his eyes. "Blood!" The doctor squeaked causing the swordsman to snap his attention back to in front of him. The little reindeer ran closer to get a better look. "What if they're injured?" Chopper looked back at Franky desperately who only gave him a confident thumbs up.

"Nami, Robin, Brook and Usopp are all SUPER strong! They're fine!" He said loudly and happily. The doctor gave him a happy nod whipping the tears from his eyes before they could poor down his fuzzy cheeks.

'RUN!' Zoro yelled frantically again even though he knew by now that it was hopeless. As expected the two of them didn't hear a thing. The swordsman only could watch as another set of dark hands grabbed his two other nakama. 'No! Not them too! Stop this illusion! J-just kill me already damn it!' Zoro yelled desperately and terrified. When he did one of the dark hands reached into the little doctor's stomach grabbing hold of a long pink thing and yanking it out of him. Blood splattered everywhere and even shot up to Zoro, splashing the little reindeer's blood on his cheek. Suddenly, the swordsman felt sick, realizing that the pink thing that hand was pulling out was one of Chopper's intestines. The little doctor screamed as the endless line of pink was being yanked out of him.

"What a wonderful scream." The demon laughed coldly. Zoro almost threw up at the sight but held it in as another hand reached into Franky's back grabbing a hold of one of his kidneys and yanking it out. More blood splattered all over the place as Franky's scream ripped through Zoro's ears. The swordsman yelled at the horror having red tears flood down his face.

'Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!' Is all Zoro could do is whisper that word over and over again in the angriest, most threatening tone that he could muster.

"H...e...l...p.. M...e... Z...o...r...o...!" The two of them pleaded franticly. The green haired man closed his eyes tightly not wanted to watch the horrifying scene play out I front of him. When the figure saw what he was doing, two dark hands pried Zoro's eyes open once again.

"Now, now, this is something you must enjoy!" The pirate hunter's eyes opened to organs floating in pools of blood as Franky and Chopper's entire bodies where painted red. The two of them probably died a long time ago. To make sure of it, the hands reached into the straw hat's emptied bodied one again grabbing their hearts, yanking it out and crashing it sending more blood splattering everywhere. Zoro couldn't hold back his emotions any longer. His expression become despair written, his body shook uncontrollably and his voice cracked as he spoke.

'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...' He whispered painfully to the organ less corpses of his nakama as they were being tossed away out of sight once again only leaving behind little remains. Their blood and organs splattered everywhere. Memories of the friends that had died came flooding into the tortured swordsman's mind as his two remaining nakama Luffy and Sanji stepped out of the darkness, in front of Zoro. 'No!' The swordsman cried. 'They are all I have left! Don't!' The two straw hats stared in horror at the organs and blood that was splattered everywhere.

"Shit! Usopp! Brook! Franky! Robin! Chopper! Nami!" They yelled out worried hoping for a response. Yet again with no time for the swordsman to recover they were interrupted when the dark hands finally got a hold of them and slashed open their arms, legs and chest. The two grunted in pain while more dark hands came and dropped little pills into the deep cuts.

'What are you doing!?' Zoro yelled as the hands let go of the two Straw Hats. Suddenly high pitch beeping came from Luffy and Sanji's leg causing them both to look at each other confused. Without a second thought their leg exploded sending blood, bone, skin and muscle scattering everywhere. The two yelled loudly falling back and coughing up blood. 'Those were bombs…?' Zoro stated weakly. The high pitch beeping came back, this time in their other leg and the two of them where yelling for Zoro to help, like the others did. Their other leg exploded sending leg pieces scattering everywhere one again. The pool of blood from all Zoro's nakama was probably enough to swim in by now.

Again the beeping came, this time to both their right and left arms at the same time exploding simultaneously. The two yelled in pain once again and Zoro found it impossible that the two of them were still even conscious. There was a small pause to let the two nakama suffer as they begged weakly for Zoro's help… Even the cook was asking to be saved at this point… Finally, the beeping started coming from their chest and Zoro shook his head trying to make the demon stop. 'No...! No...! No...! No...! No...! NO!' The swordsman repeated over and over again. Tears started to trickle down the strong swordsman's face but they didn't feel right. They had a familiar thick feel to them along with a dark red colour instead of the transparent ones. He... was crying blood. After the beeping started the two remaining Straw Hats started to become more desperate as they squirmed, yelled and begged with all of their remaining energy.

Zoro watched their last desperate attempt at asking him for help as the swordsman started crying uncontrollably as the two of them exploded sending body parts everywhere and splashing the pirate hunter from head to toe in his nakama's blood. Zoro almost threw up again as the heads of his nakama rolled towards him, with the same terrified look on their faces as when they died. 'LUFFY! SANJI!' There was a very long pause as Zoro's wavering eyes stared into the eyes of his nakama's severed heads.

"Spectacular!" The demon laughed, breaking the silence and finally unlocking Zoro's chains, letting him drop to the ground. The bloody pirate hunter walked over to the pool of blood slowly, passing his nakama's oragans, body parts, skin and bones. When he finally reached it he dropped to his knees placing his hands into the blood and scooping it up.

'E…Every…one...' He muttered darkly as a cold glare took over Zoro's red eyes. All of his friends where dead, they all died brutally right in front of him. Begging him for help even though he couldn't do anything. He failed them, it's his fault that they all died. If he would have been stronger... The red tears flooded down his face once again dripping into his nakama's blood and blending in with it. His eyes grew red when a dark expression made its way to Zoro's face.

'Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook.' He said their names so quietly and sadly having flashes of good memories with them as he said each of their names. 'P-Please...' He stuttered as if he was begging them to come back to life. Zoro's body shook, dropping the blood out of his hands. 'I...I'm so weak...' He smashed his head to the ground retching in pain from the loss of his nakama… He had completely lost himself and forgot it was an illusion… 'DAMN WHY MY NAKAMA!? WHY DIDINT YOU KILL ME INSTEAD!?' Zoro yelled angrily, too grief stricken to even move. 'I was training so hard... So I could protect them... So we could fulfil our dreams together... DAMN IT!' He yelled again pounding his head into the ground. 'I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!' He whimpered repeatedly. 'It's my fault, I let you guys die! I couldn't protect any of you! I'm so sorry!'

He stood back on his feet hanging his head low. Zoro's hair casted a shadow in the darkness covering the swordsman's red eyes which were growing colder. 'I'll kill you...' Zoro looked at the demon full of bloodlust and instinct walking towards the dark figure.

"Moss head!? Hey! It's ok, everything is ok!" A voice echoed in Zoro's head. The swordsman stopped in his tracks, his red eyes opened widely losing some of the coldness.

'E-ero-cook!? He's alive!?' The swordsman had never been so happy to hear his voice. He looked around hoping to see Sanji up again and making fun of him for crying but he only saw his rival's bloodied dangling head in front of him. Zoro's face was flooded with rage and cold instinct, his glowing red eyes filling with more darkness than ever before. He gritted his teeth together running at the demon to rip it to shreds.

"Zoro..." The voice called out again. This time the swordsman didn't hear it, he ran with all his might at the demon with eyes full of rage and revenge driven intent. The look on Zoro's face made the demon smile as he grabbed Zoro's katana with ease, without getting a single scratch on him.

"Good..." The demon said coldly. A dark aura made its way up Zoro's sword and started flooding into him. The swordsman's eyes widened as the red in his eyes glowed brighter and his gaze grew darker. "Let the darkness consume you... It's the only way you'll ever be strong enough!" Zoro's eyes narrowed in rage as he gripped his sword tighter remembering the death of his comrades. The dark aura turned into his own and demonic fangs grew on his canine teeth. Another burst of darkness enveloped his body when everything went black.

...

"STOP!" Zoro yelled flopping around in the infirmary bed as bloody tears poured down his face staining the pillow crimson to match the bed. "No! Luffy! Sanji!" The swordsman yelled again sounding completely terrified.

"Hey! I said everything will be fine! Look! I'm right here beside you dumb ass!" Sanji cried over his nakama's screaming and pleading. What was with that idiot swordsman calling him by his real name again!? Damn and why did he sound so scared? And why was he crying!? Zoro never cries! And why was he crying BLOOD!? The cook's heart started beating faster at the sight of the blood dripping down Zoro's face. 'It's like he's tearing himself apart!'

"Why did you kill my nakama!? Why didn't you just kill me instead!?" Zoro screamed again sounding so saddened and devastated. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He whimpered repeatedly. "It's my fault, I let you guys die! I couldn't protect any of you! I'm so sorry!"

"Let us die?" Sanji looked at his nakama with a horrified look on his face. "We're alive you idiot! Stop apologizing!"

Suddenly an enraged, dark look took over Zoro's face. He stayed quiet for a bit when the aura bursted even more out of control. "I'll kill you..." The swordsman said darkly sounding furious and full of bloodlust. Zoro stopped flopping around as his fists grasped his face tighter and the cold expression took over him. The stain of red tears still on the pirate hunter's face.

The cook grunted as the bursting dark aura threw Sanji against the wooden wall of the infirmity. The book shelf shook as all the books almost fell to ground from the impact. Sanji's face twisted in pain at the crushing aura, the cook knew his voice wasn't reaching the swordsman, and he was running out of time.

Zoro's cold, glowing red eyes snapped open as the swordsman gritted his teeth together revealing demonic fangs. He swung his feet over off the bed getting up slowly and running on pure instinct. The strong aura kept Sanji pressed up against the wall, unable to move a muscle as the swordsman walked slowly to Sanji, staring into the cook's eyes. Zoro's gaze showed nothing but rage and darkness causing Sanji to widen his eyes in terror. "You killed them..." The pirate hunter said darkly. The cook widened his eyes in shock and horror at what his nakama said, pressing up as hard as he could against the wall wanting nothing more than to escape.

"Marimo!?" The cook pleaded hesitantly. Zoro didn't stop, at it seemed that he couldn't hear anything Sanji was saying. He stopped only inches away from the cook staring at him coldly.

"They're dead..." The swordsman said again with a cold, enraged tone. The cook narrowed his eyes trying to understand what was going on when Zoro grabbed Sanji's good arm squeezing it with inhuman strength. The cook grunted in pain trying to pry his nakama's grip off of him but it was no use.

"I told you that we're alive idiot!" Sanji yelled with his voice shaking. He didn't want to be scared of his friend, but this wasn't the Zoro he knew, it wasn't the Zoro that he trusted with his life... This was a demon that needed to be stopped.

A yell escaped Sanji's lips when Zoro's grip tightened and he put both his and on Sanji's arm. "You're... Planning to break my other arm!?" The cook asked exhaustively trying to break his grip but it his nakama's grip was still too strong. With another squeeze Zoro bent the cook's arm the complete opposite direction, smirking at the snapping sound that it made. Sanji screamed in pain making Zoro's smirk grow bigger.

"There's nothing left..." The swordsman said coldly once again. Reaching for another part of his nakama's arm to break. The cook's eyes widened not wanting it to happen again, how was he supposed to cook now without his arms!? The one thing that he swore to protect so he could cook for his nakama, the one thing he swore to keep out of battle so he could do what he loves. Now, his own nakama was breaking his prized positions.

"I told you already idiot! You have us, your friends! We're still alive Zoro!" The cool yelled again unable to keep the pain out of his voice. The swordsman's eyes widened taking some of the darkness out of then for a split second until they went back to their demonic self. Zoro pulled back his fist punching Sanji's already weak body into the wall leaving a dent in the wood from the impact. The cook coughed up blood forcing himself to stay on his feet. 'I have no other choice... I'm not breaking through to him like this!'

Sanji stepped into the punch wrapping both his shaking, broken arms around the dark swordsman resting his chin lightly on Zoro's shaking shoulders. The cook winced in pain at the movement of his broken arms but held the swordsman determinedly anyways. Sanji hugged him tightly, refusing to let the pirate hunter fall out of his arms. Zoro squeezed his eyes shut tightly, breathing heavily and struggling for control. The cook waited patiently, fighting the intense pain that was surging through his entire body from being inside the aura. Sanji saw that it still wasn't working, the aura hadn't calmed down and his friend still had the same cold, instinctive look on his face. He could tell that he was still struggling and that he'd lose control again any minute if he didn't do something. 'Shit... What did those guys do to him...?' Without a second thought Sanji brought himself closer to Zoro wrapping his arms around his nakama a little tighter, squeezing Zoro's still shaking body lightly to break through to him.

"Moss head... It's ok, everything is ok!" The cook said in a more calming tone praying that his voice would reach his nakama this time. "Zoro..." He said soothingly again squeezing Zoro a little bit tighter. "Everyone is ok... Calm down... None of us are dead. They are all waiting outside, worried about you." The cook said warmly calming down his injured nakama. The aura got less intense as Zoro's expression calmed down and he stopped shaking so vigorously. "Everything is ok Zoro." He repeated kindly. "Everything is ok..." The dark, instinctive look escaped his nakama's face, leaving a peaceful one behind. The swordsman's body went limp and relaxed as Zoro opened one of his heavy red eyes, bringing his left hand around the cook's back and weakly placed it on Sanji's right shoulder, squeezing it in his fist softly. This was the real Sanji in front of him… That right… Everything that happened before was all an illusion.

Sanji's eyes widened surprised that the swordsman was conscious when he felt the grip on his shoulder. He stayed silent as he heard the swordsman struggling to speak. Eventually, Zoro found his voice and whispered exhaustively in Sanji's ear before the aura disappeared completely. "I-I broke your arm… Didn't I?" Guilt made its way to the swordsman's face as he squeezed the cook's shoulder tighter. "Damn…! I hurt another one of my nakama." Zoro gritted his teeth together as the demonic fangs disappeared. Zoro felt frustrated and mad with himself, he was still way too weak. He just tried to kill one of his friends again! He pulled his fist out of Sanji's chest punching the wall next to him angrily with shaking fists.

"You idiot!" Sanji snapped unwrapping one of his arms from around the swordsman and grabbing his collar instead despite the protest of his newly broken arm. At this point he was only able to move it because he was running on pure adrenaline. "Do you really think YOU could hurt me!? Don't make me laugh! That thing wasn't you, it never was you! It's just another damn enemy that you need to surpass!" The swordsman's gaze dropped to the ground as Sanji loosened his grip on Zoro's collar.

"You don't need to tell me that… idiot." Zoro muttered trying his best to sound as annoyed as possible. His grip loosed on Sanji`s shoulder as his eyes blinked back to their normal color for a split second, sending a wave of intense pain through Zoro`s body until they flashed back to red. The cook did a good job masking over his worry this time, ignoring his nakama`s sudden flinch in pain as best as he could.

"It seems like I did, you shitty bastard." Sanji growled turning his head away from Zoro. Relief flooded through the cook seeing that Zoro was back to normal, at least for now. He sighed as silence flooded the small, damaged room. Zoro's red eyes turned back to their original color, like they have done many times before. The pain and fatigue struck the swordsman and with the last of his strength he whispered to Sanji tiredly.

"Thank you... Ero-cook..." They both dropped down to their knees unable to stand anymore from exhaustion. The pirate hunter's arms dropped weakly back down by his sides as his body fell weakly in the cook's arms. Sanji's lips curled up into a small grin behind the green haired man's back responding quietly, in more of a joking manner then any.

"Shut up Marimo..." The sound of his nakama's worried voices and hurried footsteps rushing in through the infirmary door was the last thing the injured swordsman heard before is eye closed shut. Zoro smiled as the last of the pirate hunter's consciousness slipped away. It seemed like the swordsman had gone back to his regular self, at least, it appeared that way on the surface.

...

Yusuke's menacing smirk dropped suddenly to a frown when he felt Zoro's dark aura die down. "That man is quite stubborn..." He admitted crossing his legs on the golden red thrown. His assistant bowed down agreeing calmly with his master.

"Indeed, The Nightmare is supposed to reflect someone's biggest fear and amplifies it to make the nightmare even worse. It forced them to live through it, letting anger and despair take over them. It causes the half breed to lose control of themselves, letting their inner demon come out and tear apart their human side. But it seems like this man was able to overcome it, keeping his demon suppressed and his human side in control." He explained as the purple haired man forced a smile, unable to keep the anger out of his expression.

"How could such pitiful, filth, half breed do that? The Nightmare always works!" Yusuke clenched his fists in frustration continuing to complain to Kurayami. "Half demons are very rare to come by but we have never failed to awaken a single one! No matter how stubborn the person was, that method had never failed to crush the half-breed's human side before!"

"Indeed master, but we have done some damage. Roronoa's human side won't be able to hold out for much longer... I'm sure he's awakening as we speak. He'll be losing control of himself as soon as he regains consciousness." The assistant stated coldly and calmly knowing what he was saying is true.

The demon closed his cold red eyes regaining his composure. "You're correct... It isn't too late." The smirk played across Yusuke's lips once again chuckling at the thought. "There are many different ways, for a king to use his pawns!"

**((Authors Note: To be continued! Wow that chapter was long! XD I hope Zoro's dream wasn't too brutal for you guys. haha X3 Please keep reviewing, I want to make my story as good as possible! Chapter 5 will come out as soon as possible!))**


	5. Blame

# Blame

**((Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, I had a bit of a writer's block :P. I'm really no good at writing explanations in my stories, I always end up bombarding the reader with too much info so it gets confusing and makes no sense or a put too little. I had to read it over a lot of times to try to get the explanations right XP lol so please tell me how I did and if I can improve the way I explain things in the story I welcome constructive criticism! I'm trying to tie some stuff together in this chapter so I hope its ok XD))**

The Straw Hats ran into the infirmity as fast as their feet could carry them hearing loud booming sounds against the wooden floor with each step. All of their eyes locked on the two collapsed figures at the other end of the room as they forced their legs to move faster. The Straw Hats skidded to a stop meeting their restless, worried eyes with Sanji's. The cook was on one knee as their swordsman's tired, unconscious body was in his arms, collapsed on top of Sanji. The cook had obviously been trying to get up with Zoro in his arms but hadn't succeeded. They all rushed by the blonde's side to help him up when Chopper snapped at all of them quickly. "Wait! You shouldn't move them around, they may be severally injured." The doctor warned assuming that the worst has happened. The little reindeer desperately pushed his way to the front causing them all to bump into each other and body check Usopp against the wall. The room was way too small for so many people but they all refused to leave until they were sure that their nakama were alright.

Even with the small amount of room and the loud noises of everybody yelling at each other to move, Chopper was doing his job perfectly. He worked with amazing speed and precision, whipping out his tools and examined them with the same routine that he always uses when checking their vital signs. 'Blood pressure; normal, heart rate; a bit fast, breathing; normal...' He thought to himself making sure he covers every point. Finally, after a long, suspenseful silence he deduced happily that both of their lives were in no danger and that they were just in need of some rest.

The reindeer examined the rest of the two injured Straw Hats and felt his heart skip a beat with he saw Sanji's right arm. It was all black and blue, it seemed like it was deformed as well after being bent the wrong way. Chopper stared at Sanji's arm grimly finding that the bruises that where all over it looked like fingers, as if someone was grabbing him tightly when his arm broke. The doctor's eyes widened and his entire body shook as he realized that the bruises looked early similar to Zoro's hands. The reindeer swallowed hard and looked sadly at the wound, the only person who could have done it is Zoro... No, it wasn't Zoro... The monster that took over Zoro did this.

Chopper examined it closer seeing that the cook's bone in his lower arm had been completely snapped in half. He shuttered at the thought pulling more white bandages out of his bag and wrapping Sanji's right arm tightly with it. Just like the last arm, Chopper placed another sling around the cook's neck and placed Sanji's right arm carefully into it so that the blond could rest both his broken bones. When he was done treating his nakama's injury, Chopper sighed whipping the sweat off of his forehead as it flung off the fuzzy brown fur and onto the cold wooden ground. "Neither of their lives are in danger." The doctor finally said out loud breaking the silence in the room.

Zoro and Sanji's nakama sighed in relief and happiness when they heard the great news as Luffy picked up Zoro's unconscious body, holding his swordsman tightly in the captain's rubbery arms. Brook and Usopp worked together to help Sanji to his feet who quickly waved them off once he was upright again. Nami and Robin worked with Franky to survey the damage done to the room trying to get a better understanding of what happened to Zoro and Sanji while they were waiting outside of the infirmity. Sadly, the only thing they found was a small dent in the wall where Sanji was and the gross looking crimson bed with dry, crusted blood all over it.

"Nami, why don't we change Zoro's bed sheets?" The raven haired women suggested with a pleasant smile on her face. Nami looked at the bed with widened eyes, she looked completely shaken up from the sight of the bed but Robin knew it wasn't only that. "Nami?" The archeologist repeated. The navigator quickly snapped out of her trance and took a deep breath to regain composure.

"You're right." She finally chocked out as they made their way to the bed side. The two girls peeled off all of the red sheets and the pillow cases handing it to Nami who shuttered as she brought it outside. Robin took new, white sheets and placed them back on the bed making it look as good as new.

While the two girls where doing that, Franky took Usopp and got to work on fixing the dent made in the wall. Usopp handed wood up to Franky who quickly nailed it in so perfectly to cover the hole it looked like it was never there to begin with. The cyborg gave Usopp a thumbs up for a job well done as they turned their attention to their nakama to see if they could help with anything else.

Luffy grinned widely at how helpful his nakama where and carefully brought his unconscious swordsman to the new bed, lying him down gently on top of the clean white sheets. Zoro was breathing a lot easier now and his face returned to the peaceful, relaxed expression he usually has when he's asleep.

Before anyone could leave, Chopper insisted on checking the rest of his nakama for injures being the overly cautious doctor he is. Despite the protests of the crew, Chopper checked over everyone's body for injuries against their will. In the end, he found that most of them remained uninjured or left with small bruises and scratches that aren't anything to worry about. "Alright... You guys are all fine!" Chopper declared relieved.

Nami smiled at what Chopper said but a thought hit her causing the navigator's eyes to widen slightly. She remembered that she dropped her Clima Tact in this room the last time she was here and never ended up getting it back. The cat burglar navigated her eyes through the Straw Hats finally locking her gaze of a long blue medal pole that was lying motionlessly on the ground. She picked it up with care breaking it into three pieces and attached it back onto her pants where they belonged with a smile.

"Good, that means we can go now. This room gets really cramped with all these people in here at once." Sanji sighed walking towards the door slowly as the rest of his nakama followed. Without even noticing, the Straw Hats hesitantly lingered in the room near the door before leaving as if to make sure that nothing else was going to happen to the swordsman and then forced themselves to leave. Brook was the one who volunteered this time to stay behind and keep watch over Zoro.

The gust of fresh air hit the Straw Hats as they pleasantly inhaled as much as they could. "You need to get some rest now Sanji." Chopper said with a professional tone while looking up worryingly at the exhausted looking cook. Sanji was very bad at hiding things like that and Chopper was a professional at spotting it thanks to Zoro's stubbornness when he's injured.

"I'm fine Chopper... Besides, I should go and make some breakfast." Sanji took a small step forward and looked down at his arms grimly with a pained look on his face. How was he supposed to cook with two broken arms? He could barely smoke right now let alone cook... The blond gritted his teeth together in annoyance dropping his gaze down to the green grass on the deck of the Thousand Sunny.

"Sanji-kun, go get some rest. Me and Robin can handle breakfast." Nami smiled trying to keep the worry out of her voice. The navigator was unsuccessful but Sanji noticed her efforts and played along, pretending that everything was alright to keep the crew's spirits up.

"Oh Nami-swan! I couldn't ask that of you my love!" The cook sang twirling closer to Nami with hearts in his eyes. He stared at her lovingly without blinking even once. That's something that would make most people uncomfortable unless you've been traveling with this pervert for almost a year like Nami, making the navigator immune to it.

"It's ok Sanji, really! Go rest." Nami repeated, grinning wider at the cook. She turned to Robin to ask for some help but the navigator didn't even need to say a word before Robin agreed. The archeologist gave a slight nod and Nami turned back to Sanji with a more determined look in her eyes, a look that made Sanji melt. The hearts in his eyes grew bigger as Sanji stuck out his tongue, waving his body around excitedly.

"Oh thank you my loves! Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! You're the greatest!" With that, Sanji spun off singing their names with a huge, love-stricken smile on his face. The cook spun with the same smile on his face until he was out of the Straw Hat's sight.

When Sanji was alone he didn't have to try so hard to act 'normal'. He stopped and sunk himself down to a more serious mood struggling to move his arms and pull out a fresh cigarette because of the intense sting he felt when he tried to use them. The pain wasn't unbearable though, either way he craved a cigarette and needed it to calm himself down. He finally got a hold of the tobacco placing it in between his teeth and lighting it up. He took a big breath of smoke and felt some of the worries escape out of him when he exhaled, fading away in the wind along with the cloud of tobacco.

'I guess I'll go rest now...' The cook thought to himself making his way over to the men's barracks and opened the door slowly with his foot. He dragged his feet along the floor as if he was forcing himself to go further. What Sanji really wanted to do was cook right now... How could he possibly sleep after all of that happened? The blond walked slowly into the room making his way to the suddenly very comfortable looking couch and lied down. His eye lids suddenly became as heavy as lead and closed shut. Sanji relaxed and let his thoughts put him to sleep.

"Nami..." Robin said hesitantly as she looked over at the navigator forming sticky rice into spheres. Nami looked back at the archeologist listening with an interested look on her face. She finished forming the rice into a ball and passed it to one of Robin's many sprouting hands who added the filling and put it into the silver bowl at the edge of the counter as Nami grabbed another handful of rice. "About Zoro..." There was a long pause in the room when Nami realized the subject, she froze in place waiting for Robin to continue her statement.

"I know everybody is wondering what is going on..." She paused again as if trying to take it as slowly as possible, not wanting to say or believe what she is about to say. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard chocking out each word. "I have reason to believe... that our swordsman is a half demon." Nami's eyes widened and her entire body shook as she dropped the rice ball that was in her hands causing it to scatter on the floor. The two girls didn't even seem to notice the rice ball as the navigator was focusing all of her attention on Robin. Nami's mind flooded with the conversation Luffy, Sanji and her had the day before.

'Demon...' The word echoed in her head in Zoro's cold, dark voice he used before attacking her. It sent a chill down her spine, causing the navigator's entire body to shake. "What... Makes you say that?" Nami asked in a horrified tone keeping her head down to avoid eye contact with her nakama. The navigator was unable to look into Robin's eyes, Nami didn't want to show her friend the fear and despair edged on her face. Despite Nami's efforts, her body wouldn't stop shaking with the memories of Zoro slicing that marine mercilessly. The memory of Nami's nakama strangling her haunted the navigator's mind. That raging dark aura that she saw and his cold, dark red eyes... Nami shivered again wrapping her arms around herself to try and stop her body from vibrating. 'I don't know... It's like he turns into a demon.' The captain's voice echoed through the cat burglar's head as she repeated the terrifying scenes of Zoro's demon side over and over again in her mind.

"I've read a book about demons before titled 'Shadows' and it seems that Zoro fits the description of a half human, half demon hybrid that they used in the book." Robin stopped and looked into Nami's still shaken up eyes. The navigator calmed herself down, pushing the images of Zoro's demon as far out of her mind as possible. The cat burglar took a deep breath and gazed over at Robin determinedly.

"What is the description of a half demon?" She asked seriously not breaking her gaze away from Robin's this time. Nami's orange eyes stared intensely into the archeologist's deep blue gaze thickening the air in the room. Robin gave her a cool smile and a slight nod remembering the key parts of the book word for word.

"Cold red eyes, dark expression, the black aura... It all matched up to the definition of 'the demon in the shadows.'" She quotes from the book with a smile. She gathered together he thoughts and continued on with the explanation trying to take it as slowly as possible so Nami could understand. "The only issue was that the demon's description didn't explain why Zoro was losing control like he was. So I decided to do some more research a couple of nights ago and found something quite interesting." Robin said calmly with a pause as if to tease Nami by hanging the information in front of her face like that. It worked too because the navigator's mind was flowing with so many questions that could only be answered by listening to the rest of her explanation.

'I wonder... If this book will tell us how to help Zoro.' Nami thought to herself being tired of feeling so useless because she was unable to help her nakama. She wanted the Zoro she knew back, the hot-headed, stupid swordsman she loved to boss around and yell at. Another flash of Zoro's cold eyes filled her mind breaking the sweat memories she was having, the memories of when things use to be normal on the ship. Again, with sheer willpower Nami pushed the image to the back of her mind and tuned back in to what Robin was saying.

"When I read the rest of the book it stated in the later chapters that there are pure blooded demons and half demons. There is a high quantity of pure bloods in the world and they look just like humans except for their basic characteristics like cold, red eyes, a black aura and fangs." The devil child explained keeping a calm expression on her face the whole time.

"Wait fangs?" Nami asked excitedly interrupting Robin. "That man with purple hair... That man didn't have fangs." The navigator pointed out remembering the sly figure clearly, down to the last detail.

"It stated in the book that more advanced demons can control these attributes and hide them as they please. I would presume that he can retract his fangs to make them look like normal teeth." Robin predicted not knowing what else could explain it.

"Then why doesn't Zoro have fangs if he's a demon? Can he really retract them too? Or is it because he is a half demon?" The archaeologist patiently let Nami finish her flurry of questions replying in a low, relaxed voice.

"I was just getting to that." She assured continuing on in her explanation. "Once every 100 years a half demon is born into the world. As soon as the hybrid is born the demon side of the host begins devouring the hybrid's human side. This weakens the human part of him and strengthens his demon side. The demon part continues to get stronger and stronger as the human side weakens until the human part of the hybrid is completely gone. This process is called Awakening. Once the host is fully awakened it's demon nature takes over leaving the hybrid a bloodthirsty monster that only seeks death and pain. It will kill anyone mercilessly, friends and even family." Robin explained in a shaken, grim tone thickening the air to a point where it was hard to breath. The archaeologist's explanation was obviously from her memorization of the entire book word for word even though she only read it once.

Nami gasped in horror at what she just heard. Zoro was literally tearing himself apart... The navigator flinched thinking how much the descriptions matched Zoro and that explanation to what has been happening ties almost everything together. It was the explanation that made the most sense, but Nami still couldn't believe it despite the fact that the description of a half demon matched up with Zoro perfectly, down to the last detail. Nami pictured in her mind the swordsman, covered in blood with cold red eyes and that dark expression he wore when he lost control, surrounded by the dark, crushing aura. To think, just a couple of days ago she didn't even believe that demons existed and now she finds out that one of her nakama is one!?

The navigator tried to keep her composure and wait for Robin to finish the explanation. "It seems that this 'Awakening' process has 4 major stages. When the hybrid loses control at first, it has a dark, cold glare, next is the red eyes, the dark aura and lastly demonic fangs. For the first 3 stages, something usually triggers the demon inside them to come out like a weakening of the hybrid's body or strong emotions like desperation, rage and despair. But when it reaches the 4th stage... The demon has taken over completely and Zoro will lose control anytime. It will become unpredictable and it will happen very frequently until there is nothing left of his human side and he will simply remain a bloodthirsty demon. It seems like Zoro is at the 3rd stage of the process since we've all seen him with cold, red eyes and a dark aura." Robin stated finally finishing her explanation.

"It's amazing..." Nami shuttered with a saddened smile. "He's been suppressing his demon side this whole time, by sheer willpower. If it wasn't for his strength, I'm sure we'd all be dead now." The two of them thought back to the countless times that Zoro has regained control at the very last second. Tears formed in the navigator's eyes when she quickly added something else holding back the water from spilling down her cheeks. "Well, it's a good thing that Zoro hasn't reached the 4th stage yet... If it did, I don't know what we would do. There has to be a way to stop the demon!" Nami shouted desperately unable to bear losing her nakama. Robin shook her head grimly not knowing if there was any way to stop it.

"I'll look into it more, but so far I haven't found any way to stop it." The archeologist admitted sadly. The two girls staid in silence for a while as Nami just tried to soak in the information that she was given. Her nakama was a demon... To make it worse he was almost at the last stage where he would lose his humanity forever.

'It first starts out with a cold glare...' Nami thought picturing all the times he scared countless enemies with his stare. 'The dark, red eyes...' Like when Zoro was fighting that marine swordsman on the sea train. 'The dark aura...' The swordsman had turned into Asura with that aura during his fight with Kaku. 'And finally the demonic fangs.' She was relieved that she hasn't seen that yet. The navigator looked sadly at the fallen rice ball on the ground next to her feet. 'All this time he has been slowly losing control... He's been suffering and we only noticed this now!?' She clenched her fists thinking if only they have noticed sooner... Zoro has been keeping it suppressed with all his strength, he was fighting it all alone and now that wasn't enough.

"Why?" The cat burglar asked quietly squeezing her fists tighter as her nails dug into the palm of her hand. "Why didn't he tell us anything!?" Nami asked raising her voice to a frustrated yell. Robin could tell that the navigator wasn't directing her anger to the raven haired woman, but she just needed to let her frustration out somehow. Robin sighed calmly closing her gentle eyes and made a suggestion with a cool head.

"To protect us..." She finally stated calmly. Robin opened her ocean blue eyes once again to see Nami's enraged look. She was sure that if the swordsman had been there right now, Nami would be punching him.

"He thinks he can do everything on his own but he can't! He never wants to ask for help from his nakama! Doesn't he know we would do anything for him!?" The orange haired girl screamed getting so worked up that she was panting at the end of her outburst.

"Our swordsman has always been that way..." Robin pointed out, sadly this time. The two of them sulked in silence letting Nami calm down before she spoke up again. "We should discuss this later. Let's finish making breakfast." The archeologist said forcing a small, clam smile on her face. She crossed her arms as two hands sprouted up from the ground grabbing the rice ball Nami dropped on the floor and handing it back up to her as they disappeared into flower pedals. "Sanji wouldn't be too happy if we wasted that."

"I'll eat it, I don't mind." The navigator said smiling back with a nod and washed off the rice, reforming it into a ball once again. She passed it down to the line of Robin's hands as the last rice ball was put into the bowl.

"Breakfast is ready!" Nami yelled across the deck as a bunch of hungry Straw Hats jumped up from their naps. I guess you can never really get use to fighting the whole night, no matter how many times you do it. Luffy and Usopp sprinted into the room practically jumping into their chairs. Their mouths where already watering from the smell of the food. Franky walked casually into the room soon after, sitting quickly down at the table.

Sanji opened his eyes to the sound of Nami's voice. "Nami-san?" Sanji muttered to an empty room quietly, still half asleep. A strong taste of tobacco hit his tongue from the now finished cigarette as he remembered he fell asleep with the smoke still in his mouth. He looked at the burnt up bud on the floor beside the couch and sighed before getting up. His arms still hurt and the cook felt like shit from his concussion but he ignored everything, continuing on with a determined expression. The crew already had enough on their mind thinking about Zoro, the last thing he wanted was for them to be worrying about him. Sanji walked to the door slowly opening it with his foot again and heading across the now abandoned deck to the kitchen.

"Man I'm hungry! The food smells SUPER!" The ship write yelled enthusiastically. Chopper ran in behind Franky jumping up to his chair and waited patiently with his mouth watering like the rest. "Shouldn't Brook have some too? He's sitting with Zoro right?" The cyborg mentioned looking around the room.

"You're right!" Luffy said with a goofy grin on his face trying his best to take his mind off the food until it came. "We should bring some to him after!" The captain cheered clapping the bottom of his feet together with a click from his sandals.

"Actually, I need to tell the crew something." Robin interjected with a kind voice. It was time for everybody to learn what's really going on. If they didn't know they couldn't possibly prepare for what the future held and that's the worst thing that could happen at a time like this.

"Then someone should wake up Sanji, he's probably hungry too." Usopp mentioned sounding a bit worried. Everybody had a pretty good idea what the meeting was about... Well of course, excluding Luffy who was oblivious to the mood in the room as usual.

"There's no need for that, I'm awake." Sanji said stumbling into the kitchen tiredly. They noticed that their cook wasn't looking too good, he seemed completely drained and pale but who could really blame him?

"Yohohoho, Yohohoho! Yohohoho!" Brook's violin playing echoed through the kitchen infuriating the crew and drawing everybody's gaze to the door. "Binkusu no sake wo, Todoke ni yuku yo, Umikaze kimakase namimakase!" The crew smiled at the tune feeling that a bit of their worries where lifted from them. That song never failed to lighten the mood no matter what situation they were in. Robin giggled in nostalgia at the tune looking at Chopper with a grin.

"Can we afford to leave Zoro alone for a couple of minutes? I promise, the meeting won't take long." Chopper stopped and thought about it for a little bit with an unsure look on his face. His condition wasn't critical anymore but he was still very injured. Plus, there was always a chance that the purple haired man would come back and try to go after Zoro again. In the state their swordsman was in, he wouldn't be able to protect himself. Despite all of Chopper's doubts he hesitantly nodded.

"Alright, as long as the meeting stays short." The doctor finally said trusting that nothing will happen to their nakama during that short meeting. The archeologist smiled at how unsure his voice was and started walking towards the kitchen door.

"Then I'll go get Brook." She said pushing the door open lightly and calmly walking out. The closer she got the infirmity the louder the song Bink's Sake was getting. She opened the door to discover Brook singing happily while he played his violin by Zoro's bedside. "Brook, breakfast is ready." Robin said peacefully. The musician stopped singing and looked over at Robin starting to laugh.

"Yohohoho! Oh Robin-san I didn't even see you come in!" The skeleton exclaimed happily. The archeologist chuckled lightly looking over at her unconscious nakama with a smile.

"If you keep that up, you'll awake Zoro." Robin mentioned with another giggle. She scanned the swordsman seeing no traces of a dark aura or any signs of him losing control. The archeologist let out a slight exhale in relief, smiling a little bigger at Zoro's peaceful looking face.

"Oh! I don't think Zoro-san would wake up for something like this! Nami-san has told me countless stories about how Zoro-san never wakes up! Yohohoho!" Brook laughed again placing his violin on his lap as the musician's gaze was drawn to Zoro. They looked at the pirate hunter in silence for a while until Robin remembered the reason she came to the infirmity in the first place.

"Breakfast is ready." Robin repeated. "Why don't you come to the kitchen for a bit? It won't take long." She insured going over the information she wants to tell the rest of the Straw Hats in her head. The musician stood up without any protests walking towards the door but stopped when he was about to pass Robin.

"Robin-san..." He said in a very serious, grim tone. The way he said it shocked the archeologist and she looked intently at him to continue. "Zoro-san... He..." Brook paused again not quite sure where he was going with this himself. The skeleton let what he said linger in the room until he worked up to courage to ask the question that has been on everybody's mind. "Will he ever be our Zoro-san again?" Robin swallowed hard hating the feeling of not knowing the answer to something and slowly shook her head.

"I don't know that quite yet Brook... But I will find the answer." She insisted determinedly. With that the skeleton was satisfied enough to leave the infirmary. Brook was starving and could smell the food from the medical room, it was driving him crazy.

"Alright Robin-san!" He sung clearing the heaviness in the air and galloping out the door. He immediately made a B line for the kitchen humming excitedly, with a growling stomach. "Food! Food!" The musician chanted repeatedly as he walked through the kitchen door. Robin followed close behind him with a delighted smile on her face.

"So it seems that everybody's here..." Nami pointed out with a nod. "Then let's get down to business!" She took the big silver pot off the counter that was overflowing with rice balls and placed it carefully on the table with a thud. "Dig in!" Without her even having to say it there where already countless rice balls in Luffy's mouth as he tried to talk to Usopp while stuffing his face. Sanji took a rice ball carefully with one of his broken arms suppressing the pain on his face. He ate it carefully examining the flavour and smiling when he finally finished it.

"You two are such lovely cooks Nami-san and Robin-chan! I don't deserve to eat such divine food!" Hearts formed his eyes again as he looked at the two girls flirtatiously. They smiled at his compliments knowing full well that the two of them could have served Sanji rotten cheese on a plate and he'd still say it's wonderful.

It took less than a minute for all of the rice balls to be gone, each Straw Hat stuffed their face as they protected their food from the hungry captain. Poor Brook was a victim having most of his food stolen by Luffy do to his lack of experience. Finally there where only crumbs left and the noise in the dining hall was down to a dull roar before everybody prepared to leave. "Wait everyone!" Nami snapped quickly before any of them could get up. "There is something important everybody needs to know..." They all looked at each other remembering what the girls said before they started eating and settled back into their seats slowly. Nami glanced over at Robin who stood up with a pained expression on her face.

"We have reason to believe that Zoro is a half demon..." Robin blurted out to start off her explanation, getting right to the point. All of the Straw Hat's eyes widened but none of them dared to say a word. Even their knuckle head captain stayed serious and quiet. They wanted to hear what Robin had to say because it's the only lead they have to what's going on. The archeologist explained everything once again reciting the book exactly and using the same words she used with the navigator only a couple of minutes earlier. Despite the fact that Nami had already heard this, she listened intently once again to try and get an even better understanding. When Robin was finally finished she scanned the quiet room to see the shocked, horrified expression on everybody's face.

"Wait..." Sanji said slowly, looking pale as a ghost. "Did you say that, demonic fangs meant that the demon had taken him over completely!?" The cook yelled in a panic. Nami looked at him confused talking in a low hesitant voice.

"Well ya... But thankfully he hasn't reached that stage yet. If he did, I think we would be out of luck. So let's help him before something like that happens." She said with a determined smile.

"Nami-san..." The cook muttered slowly in the grimmest tone possible. He used the type of tone you'd use when telling somebody that their family member died. "It's too late..." Sanji put his head down focusing his gaze on the desk. He couldn't meet his nakama's eyes. "When I went in that intense aura... He had those demonic fangs... I-I didn't think much of it back then, I thought that we just hadn't noticed it before... But now..." Those words hit his nakama's hard and all of them turned a pale white colour, their eyes opened widely in shock. The cook squeezed his eyes shut tightly and forming his hands into fists.

"How did you stop him then Sanji!?" Robin asked shocked that the cook hadn't died from that encounter. Sanji dropped his gaze hesitantly remembering what happened, remembering that his voice hadn't reached Zoro that time.

"I just kicked some sense into that bastard..." He answered bleakly shifting his gaze once again. They all looked down in despair feeling like all hope was fleeting their hearts.

"But... Th-there's still a way to stop it right?" Usopp spoke up with a trembling voice looking around at his nakama as if they would know the answer. Robin shook her head once again hating that she would have to answer that question twice.

"I don't know yet... But I'm going to look into it." She insured trying to sound as calm and composed as possible. A loud sigh came from the cook as he bit down on his lower lip in frustration.

"So what about that demon guy that came earlier!? They did something to that stupid moss head! What do they want?" Even Sanji's voice wavered as he spoke unable to believe what he heard. Everybody wasn't in denial at Robin's explanation but what Sanji said filled them all with so much grief it was hard to handle. At the same time, they were all enraged with themselves that they hadn't noticed what has been happening to Zoro sooner.

Rage built up too much in the Straw Hat captain's heart that he wasn't able to hold it back anymore, the rubber man just exploded. He clenched his fists together standing up suddenly as his chair fell backwards and crashed into the ground with a loud smash. "What does that damn guy want to use Zoro for anyways!? And what did that damn guy do to my nakama! I'm gonna kick his ass for that he did! Where is he!?" Luffy yelled in a threatening voice. His question seemed more like orders than anything else. Chopper flinched at his captain's sudden outburst feeling tears well up in his big brown eyes. Robin shook her head again unable to answer her captain's desperate questions.

"I'm sorry Luffy... That I do not know." A look of despair came to Robin's face making the raven haired boy realize what he had done. He looked down at the table calming himself down before speaking in a saddened tone.

"No... I'm sorry Robin." The captain didn't break his gaze from the table underneath him as he saw his own tears splash bellow him. "It's all my fault... The demon took over Zoro when he protected me from those marines. If I hadn't been caught like that then Zoro's demon side would have never had the chance to take over him!" He yelled squeezing his fists so slightly that they were shaking.

"That's not true captain..." Robin reassured sadly but truthfully trying to stop Luffy from blaming himself. "This would have happened eventually, it's not your fault."

"It still is..." Luffy insisted in a pained tone. "I've known Zoro for so long. He's my nakama and I couldn't even notice that he's been suffering this whole time! I didn't even notice that he's been struggling ever since I've known him!" Luffy crashed his fist into the table making the whole thing shake vigorously. "Damn it..." He muttered to himself. The Straw Hats couldn't stand seeing their captain this way. They all wanted the goofy, free spirited captain back with his huge grin that sprawled ear to ear and his innocent 'shishishi' laugh. It seemed like the whole crew was falling apart, not because of Zoro... But because they were themselves apart. Sanji just couldn't take it anymore. He stood up kicking his chair back making it fly and hit the wall behind him.

"Damn that shitty bastard! He could have told us damn it! That shitty marimo always tries to do everything by himself! Like it'll affect his stupid pride if he asks for help from his friends!" Sanji stomped on the ground breathing heavily. His entire body was shaking in anger and he couldn't even feel the pain in his arms anymore because of his rage. It was bubbling inside of the cook for sop long that he just couldn't suppress it anymore. It was best for the blonde to show he cared through anger anyways, he refused to show he was sad or broken up over Zoro.

"Trying to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders..." Nami muttered sadly whipping the tears that where now overflowing down her cheeks. The navigator fell to her knees starting to quietly sob into her hands. The thought of Zoro being like this was too much for them to bear.

'Damn you moss head... Making Nami cry like that. I'm going to kick your ass once all of this is over!' None of the pirates had any strength or will to get up and leave the room. They all just sat there in silence going deep into thought as if they were all in a trance.

"We... We should go back to check on Zoro..." Chopper said hesitantly trying to whip the never ending stream of tears flowing out of his eyes. "You can stay here Brook, I'll take my turn to watch him." The little reindeer jumped down from his chair walking sadly out the door and leaving his silent nakama behind him in the kitchen.

Chopper made his way to the infirmary with his tiny footsteps and opened the door cautiously looking inside at the still sleeping Zoro. The doctor sighed in relief that nothing happened to his nakama while nobody was there to protect him. Chopper walked up beside the swordsman's bed and looked down at the pirate hunter who was breathing heavily, gasping for air. The doctor widened his eyes as panic flushed over him. "Oi Zoro! Zoro!" The doctor yelled. "We need a doctor!" The little reindeer yelled repeatedly, running around the room in a panic.

...

"Welcome back!" A voice echoed with a sneer as its eyes and smile lit up in the darkness once again. Zoro looked at the face with disgust not saying a word to it this time. "Oh common now, did you not enjoy the show?" It teased sending sick memories of Zoro's nakama dying brutally running though the swordsman's mind. He winced at the thought soon kicking himself for showing weakness to his demon side. The pirate hunter gritted his teeth together still not uttering a single word to the figure which just seemed to encourage it. "You will crave it soon you know..." It continued on with a bigger smile than before. "You'll crave blood and reveal your true self soon enough! You can't run away from it!" Its eyes glared coldly at Zoro, full of excitement and anticipation. "Your bloodlust will devour you... Zoro!"

Its voice boomed causing Zoro to feel a sudden unbearable pain rip through his head. It suddenly felt like he was being burned alive as all of his energy drained out of him in one fatal swoop. The swordsman's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth in pain, desperately trying to stay awake. He couldn't pass out… He couldn't lose control again and harm his nakama… He needed to stay conscious… That's when everything went black.

...

"Blood..." The swordsman muttered darkly under his heavy breath gritting his fangs together. The little doctor froze in place looking over at Zoro who was still unconscious. Chopper widened his eyes seeing the dark aura begin to consume the swordsman and took a step back as the little reindeer's entire body began to shake in fear. Chopper was about to run out the infirmary door when Zoro's cold red eyes cracked open and the swordsman sat up quickly in his bed. The red eyes faded right away along with the aura and the fangs sending a wave of pain through Zoro's body from the sudden movement. He gripped his chest grunting in pain as he fell back down onto the bed.

The noise startled the little doctor as he jumped back suddenly in shock. The swordsman blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to see a wooden ceiling over him. "Don't move around so much you're going to re-open your injuries!" Chopper demanded on instinct, snapping out of his shock.

Zoro turned his head to see where the little voice was coming from despite the wave of dull pain through his body. Chopper's eyes looked red a puffy from crying and the little reindeer's face was full of terror as if he was about to be slaughtered. Zoro also noticed that Chopper was standing out of his reach hiding the wrong way behind the book shelf with his entire body showing.

"Chopper?" The pain wasn't as bad as before and Zoro could finally speak properly but his voice was horsed from underuse and dehydration. The swordsman's throat was so dry that it hurt and his stomach was completely empty.

The pirate hunter widened his eyes seeing the completely petrified look on his nakama's face as if the little doctor was looking at a monster. Guilt and shame wrenched in his stomach remembering what he did to all of his nakama when he lost control. Zoro clenched his fists tightly with a pained look on his face as his nails dug into his skin. His own nakama thought he was a monster... His own nakama was terrified of him. Chopper studied Zoro carefully seeing the saddened look on his face and watched as the swordsman turned his gaze back up to the ceiling.

"I see..." He coughed out which sent an sharp wave of pain through the swordsman's body that he refused to show Chopper. He closed his eyes tightly gritting his teeth together in frustration. How could he expect to be treated after what he did? He scared his friends half to death and tried to kill Nami TWINCE! He even tries to kill Sanji...

Chopper remained quiet until he saw the guilt and pain wrapped up in Zoro's face. The doctor's heart dropped seeing the swordsman this way and cautiously stepped away from the book shelf. "Is it really you Zoro?" Chopper asked carefully.

"Ya... It's me..." The swordsman said grimly hating to be asked a question like that. Immediately Chopper seemed to snap out if his terrified trance whipping the last of the tears out of his eyes and sprang up in happiness.

"Everybody will be so excited to see you!" Chopper jumped trying to lighten the mood and sound happy but Zoro kept the same saddened expression. "I should tell them that you're awake!" The little doctor ran excitably for the door when he was stopped by Zoro's voice.

"Wait..." The swordsman said with a shaking tone. "I don't think... That they'll want to see me." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as the memories of chocking Nami and breaking Sanji's arm flooded into his mind. He put his hand over his eyes squeezing his face tightly. There was no excuse for doing that to his nakama and an apology wouldn't be enough. How could he expect them to just forget about it...? How could he ever live with himself for harming the people he cares about the most?

"Nobody blames you Zoro..." Chopper said softly. "We all know what's going on now so you don't have to hide it anymore! We know what's going on and we all want to help you Zoro! So stop trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders..." The swordsman opened his eyes widely in shock. They knew what he was somehow but they still wanted to help him!? Even after everything he did to them! Why...?

Chopper ran out of the cramped medical office leaving the smell of blood and medicine behind him as he shut the door. "Guys! Zoro's awake!" He yelled repeatedly all the way to the kitchen. He flung open the door to reveal that everybody was still there. "Zoro's awake!" He said again with a smile. The air seemed to grow lighter as Luffy and Usopp looked up at Chopper happily.

"Really!? Can we go see him!?" They asked anxiously practically bouncing up and down.

"Which Zoro... woke up...?" Nami asked carefully, looking at the ground and lightly touching her neck remembering his inhuman grip around it. The air thickened once again but Luffy remained the same, unable to read the mood in the room as usual, holding that goofy grin on his face that they all wanted to see.

"Our Zoro!" Chopper announced with a smile which Nami happily returned. So Roronoa Zoro was finally awake and for the first time it was THEIR Zoro. The Zoro they loved and the Zoro they could trust.

All of them sprung up running to Zoro's room with hope swelling in their souls once again. They bursted open the door seeing their nakama lying on the bed with a saddened look on his face. They all rushed to his bed side smiling. "I thought we'd never see you again Zoro!" Luffy yelled happily stretching his arms around the swordsman's body and squeezing him tightly. Zoro grunted in pain as his captain squeezed his injuries tighter. Without a second to lose Chopper turned into his human form desperately trying to pry Luffy's arm off their injured nakama.

The cook sighed turning around and acting like he couldn't care less that his nakama was finally awake despite the joy filling up inside him. Even after the cheerful mood and the exited words, the swordsman still had guilt wrapped up in his face just from looking at his nakama. Chopper finally got Luffy to let go of Zoro and all the Straw Hats except for their idiot captain noticed the swordsman's mood. "How did you know?" The pirate hunter asked unable to look his friends in the eyes. They all looked at each other quietly when Luffy spoke up childishly.

"Robin had a book!" He announced chuckling to himself. Nami's mood sunk back down into her previous, despair filled one looking at Zoro with eyes full of sorrow.

"Why Zoro? Why didn't you tell us?" More tears came to her eyes but she held them back as best as she could. The swordsman's gaze drifted further away from his friend's as he clenched his fists in frustration.

"What was I supposed to tell you?" Zoro asked loudly then sunk his voice down to a soft mutter, gritting his teeth together. "Damn... I'm just not strong enough. I'm not nearly as strong as I need to be." He continued grumbling to himself. "I thought I would be strong enough to suppress it by myself... and to protect you guys... Shit..." He muttered punching the bed. The Straw Hat's widened their eyes in shock not knowing what to say to him.

"Shut up marimo..." Sanji shouted harshly walking over to the pirate hunter's bed and grabbing his collar. Sanji winced against his will at the movement of his left arm despite the fact that it was in better condition than his right. The cook looked into Zoro's eyes angrily as the swordsman avoided his nakama's gaze, looking at the wall beside him.

"Hey Sanji don't move your arm around like that and Zoro's still injured!" Chopper warned waving his arms back and forth worried that Sanji was going to injure himself more or hit the pirate hunter injuring his nakama more. The room became dead silent as Sanji continued, ignoring the doctor.

"You shitty bastard! You think that you can just keep something like that from us!? You think you can just handle it all on your own!? Well you can't bastard! Now because of you my sweet Robin-chan and my darling Nami-san are worried out of their minds about you! They've been crying over your stupid ass! You at least owe us an explanation now! Tell us everything you know!" He demanded loudly throwing the swordsman down back onto the bed. Zoro crashed back down keeping the pain out of his face as his body moved around vigorously. With a surpassed pained look Sanji places his arm back into the sling feeling relief when he finally stopped moving it.

"We're your nakama… aren't we…?" Nami whispered weakly as another heavy silence flooded the room. Nami bit her lip when Zoro just continued to look away in response, using all her might trying to suppress the tears from falling down her cheeks once again. The navigator bit harder than intended sending a trickle of blood down her chin that dropped onto the floor. Zoro turned his gaze to his nakama sorrowfully when he saw the blood dripping down Nami's face. His eyes widened and flashed red as the swordsman brought his hands up to his face as quickly as possible. 'Blood...' A crushingly loud voice boomed in his head with a dark tone.

Zoro yelled in pain, hunching over in his bed as he struggled to stay in control. 'Kill them!' It shouted again causing Zoro's expression the wrench up further in pain. He squeezed his face tightly as the dark aura enveloped around the swordsman's body once again. Zoro clenched his face tighter still struggling to keep in control as all his nakama stepped back to the other end of the room with desperate, terrified looks on their faces. All of their body's where trembling but never the less, they were ready to fight. "G-Get… Get away… from me…!" The swordsman pleaded quickly as his hands started shaking and dropped down to his sides.

Zoro slowly got up from the bed. His cold, red eyes gazed at his friends, his expression was full of bloodlust as he gritted his teeth together revealing to them his demonic fangs. Sanji was right... It was too late.

**((Author's Note: Again, I'm sorry if my explanation was bad or boring. I'd love to hear what I could improve on or if it was ok XD thanx for reading and I'll get the chapter 6 in as soon as possible!))**


	6. Resolve

# Resolve

**((Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! I've noticed that my last two chapters where a lot longer than usual so I tried to keep this one a little shorter :3 let me know if you like longer chapters better or shorter chapters (if you have an opinion on the matter) X3 The last chapter might have been a little slow too, so I hope this one is more action packed for you guys! XD Enjoy!)) ((Warning: There is violence and gore))**

"Zo...ro...?" Nami questioned quietly unable to raise her voice. She's seen Zoro lose control before but something was different this time. It was like all of Nami's hope was taken out of her, like her will to struggle was gone. She felt like a cold empty shell with a piece in her heart missing, a piece that her nakama use to fill.

The swordsman just stared back at them with his cold red eyes and the dark expression that showed nothing but instinct. The swordsman didn't respond to anything that his nakama said, it was like Zoro wasn't even acknowledging their existence. To make it worse, the silence sent a strong eerie vibe throughout the room leaving all of the Straw Hats prettified. The pirates knew that their words weren't going to reach Zoro anymore, no matter what they tried to do.

"We have to get out of here, with this small amount of space none of us will be able to fight properly!" Sanji pointed out loudly pushing his way towards the door. "Common!" The cook snapped whipping his head in the direction of the door, motioning his nakama to follow but they didn't move an inch. Their eyes where still locked with Zoro as the swordsman started to walk slowly towards them.

"Sanji..." Chopper whimpered quietly. "You said none of us would be able to fight, in such a small space... Y-you want us to fight Zoro...? He's in no condition for a battle and neither are you with those arms of yours Sanji!" The little reindeer raised his voice desperately.

The cook narrowed his eyes as Sanji dropped his gaze down to the two broken arms dangling from the sling around his neck. The blond gritted his teeth together in frustration not wanting to admit that the little doctor was right. Sanji couldn't even run without his arms hurting from simply being bounced around, it was impossible for him to do a handstand or even jump around... Plus that little stunt he just pulled with Zoro didn't help much either and his arm was still throbbing from the strain he put on it. Sanji sighed deeply unsure how to respond when Zoro cut off his train of thought bursting forward and punching Luffy in the face with all his might. The punch was so inhumanly strong it sent the rubber man flying backwards as Sanji barley dodged his captain's flying body.

Luffy crashed through the infirmary door, smashing it into little wooden pieces. He flew all the way to the other end of the deck hitting the wall hard and falling on his stomach into the grass bellow him. A bit of blood escaped Luffy's lips and landed on the green colored deck staining it red. The rubber man brought his hand up to his cheek holding it tightly as Luffy's face wrenched up in pain.

"Why did that hurt!?" Luffy yelled hurt and confused. He squeezed his eyes shut until the pain finally subsided as he climbed to his feet once again. The Straw Hats came running out of the medical room in shock moving quickly by Luffy's side.

'A punch hurt Luffy!?' Nami thought unable to understand what happened. "But Luffy's a rubber person!" She claimed out loud in a panic looking around at her nakama for an answer but nobody was able to provide one. This happened the first time he lost control too when nobody could hit that logia type marine, Zoro was able to and that purple haired man's assistant was able to hurt Luffy with a punch as well...

"None of you interfere... I'll fight him!" Luffy announced snapping the Straw Hats out of their thought induced trance. The captain cracked his knuckles stepping forward towards the swordsman and raising his fists. Luffy made eye contact with the pirate hunter who was making his way out of the darkened infirmary. "I'm going to get our Zoro back." The captain declared seriously with a hint of sadness in his voice under the determination.

Sanji couldn't help but widen his eyes at Luffy's decision… He had thought before that Luffy wouldn't be able to fight his injured nakama… But he was dead wrong. The cook thought that though he had done it before when he got into that fight with Usopp this time he wouldn't be able to… Just like that time it was anger that was diving Luffy forward… However, it wasn't the same sort of anger that allowed Luffy to fight. This time it was that burning anger Luffy feels when his nakma get hurt. "Usopp..." Luffy muttered calmly with the shadow of his hat cascading over the rubber man's eyes. "Go get Zoro's swords..." He ordered sending a shiver though Usopp.

"Why would you give him his swords!?" The long nosed sniper screeched unable to believe his captain's idiocy. "If you give Zoro his swords it'll just make him stronger!" Usopp pointed out with shaking knees.

"Zoro is a swordsman!" Luffy snapped looking over at Usopp with rage in his eyes. "He is the swordsman on this crew, using his fists is disgraceful to him... Zoro's swords are his pride." The captain explained with that rare wise ring to his words. Luffy truly new Zoro the best and what he said was true, that's something they couldn't deny. "I know how strong he is and I don't care! I'm gonna kick this demon's ass at full power! I won't let him take over my nakama anymore!" Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs clenching his fists tightly.

Robin let off a small smile realizing that her captain didn't understand anything from her explanation of what was happening to Zoro. As usual Luffy just figured it was another mystery and that he could just beat something up to make it better. Then again, the captain's guess was as good as Robin's and the swordsman's demon side has never been beaten in a fight yet. So maybe, if it were to be defeated Zoro would regain control... If it was even possible to defeat...

"Luffy! Don't be an idiot! You saw what that demon can do! You might die!" Nami yelled looking into Luffy's eyes who didn't reflect fear for even a second.

"I won't die... I'll get Zoro back no matter what!" The captain announced loudly full of determination. With that, Usopp ran from Luffy's side to the kitchen where they decided to store Zoro's swords.

"Zoro..." Luffy said quietly getting no reaction out of his nakama once again. "I'll be your opponent!" The captain stated proudly.

"As long... As I get to see… your blood." The demon answered coldly with a slight dark grin. The pirate's eyes widened slightly surprised that Zoro responded to what Luffy was saying this time, but it didn't seem like that was a good thing.

'Maybe the reason he responded was because his demon side took complete control over him.' They all inferred remembering that each other time he spoke it wasn't directed at them, it was directed at himself as if he was talking to his human half.

Usopp was running as fast as he could dodge the tables while running around the kitchen looking for three katana. The sniper didn't even stop when he finally found them leaning motionlessly against the wall next to the fridge. Usopp swept them off the ground in a hurry and ran out to the deck where Luffy and his swordsman where standing, ready to fight. Usopp froze at the kitchen door not wanted to go any closer to the swordsman standing only inches in front of him. He placed the swords on the ground and slid them over across the grassy deck to Zoro's feet. The swordsman's eyes were locked on them desperately following the swords' every movement. He leaned down cautiously pushing them through his sword sling and pulling out the blade's from their sheath. He placed his cherished white sword in his mouth biting down on the hilt with his fangs.

Luffy and Zoro stared each other down as the rest of the Straw Hats moved as far out of the way as they could so the 7 of them wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. As soon as they cleared the area clouds slowly drifted in front of the sun, casting a huge shadow across the battle field and darkening the deck. In a second, the two of them leaped at each other as Zoro slashed the katana forward with all his might aiming for the rubber man's neck. With quick precision, the captain grabbed the sword's hilts to stop them, using his foot to block the sword in Zoro's mouth. The shockwave of that strong collision send fast winds whipping throughout the deck of the Sunny and blew the other Straw Hat's hair back. 'So this is what Zoro's like when the demon has taken over completely...' Nami thought to herself. 'He's a lot stronger now... And when he fights he's using actual skill now and not just brute force...' She remembered that all Zoro did with his swords the first time was hack away at his enemy. The other times he didn't even have his sword with him... She shuttered thinking how powerful the pirate hunter would be now and prayed for her captain's safety.

The two lasted in the lock for a while until Zoro's inhuman strength finally overpowered Luffy sending him skidding back as his sandals scraped along the deck. Without waiting a second, Zoro was right on top of the captain once again aiming his attacks at Luffy's vital organs. The rubber man widened his eyes when he realized that Zoro was trying to go for the kill, one hit from the pirate hunter's sword would kill the captain for sure. Zoro continued with the barrage of slashes not giving Luffy an inch. The captain dodged again and again feeling the wind wisp by him every time he barely managed to dodge the swinging sword.

Despite the fact that Luffy was putting on, the Straw Hats could tell that their captain was worried for Zoro. The rubber man knew that Zoro was in no condition to fight, and that he may never become himself again. But fighting seemed to be the only way Luffy knew how to solve problems and it's worked almost every time too, so why not now? 'I hope they will be alright...' Brook thought while he watched the fight carefully. He shifted his gaze over to Sanji who seemed the most broken up at the moment. The cook's eyes where open widely as his teeth where constantly grinding together out of frustration. Sanji formed his hands into fists sending a wave of pain shooting through his entire upper body as he realized he had damaged his arms more with all of his attempts to move them.

'Why now of all times? No matter how much I pretend it doesn't hurt I can't stop the sharp pain though them... And when I pretend they just aren't broken I worsen their condition.' He thought to himself regretting what he did in the infirmary. The cook sighed narrowing his eyes and tuning back into the fight between his two nakama noticing that something was off.

"Zoro is trying to kill Luffy..." Robin stated watching how a couple of slashes aimed for Luffy's neck. "Zoro is going for the kill and yet Luffy doesn't want to hurt Zoro at all... Our captain is hesitating." She closed her eyes gently thinking about the situation. The fight looked very off from the beginning, seeing that despite Luffy's great speed and agility he wasn't trying to counter any of Zoro's slashes at all. It's like the captain isn't thinking clearly...

Luffy gritted his teeth together stretching his arms back as far as they could go. The rubber man looked at his nakama, hesitating for a split second and delaying the captain's attack noticeably. He shook his head quickly and flung both his hands in Zoro's direction aimed for the swordsman's stomach. The second of hesitation gave the pirate hunter enough time to counter and with amazing speed Zoro crossed his blades in front of Luffy's target. The captain's attack already had too much momentum for Luffy to stop it, all he could do was close his eyes and wait for the impact. The captain flinched turning his head away and closing his eyes shut tightly as both of Luffy's hands collided with the blades on the sword. His rubber hands sunk into the steel deeply as the katana cut through half of Luffy's hands causing blood to splatter on the swordsman's white shirt and tanned face. Luffy yelled in pain pulling his hands back before they could be cut completely in half leaving the top of them both hanging by a flimsy piece of skin that attached to the rest of the hand. He looked at the bloody mess that where once his hands in shock and pain desperately trying to form a fist with them. His fingers where a sickly blue color and his entire lower arm refused to move a muscle. The captain's hands where in unbearable pain and utterly useless now.

"Luffy!" The Straw Hats yelled desperately. Chopper took a step forward with tears in his eyes to run and treat his nakama when Luffy snapped harshly at the little doctor.

"Stay back! This fight isn't over yet!" He shouted loudly with the pain from his hands in his voice. The doctor froze on the spot when his gaze drifted towards Zoro who was looking at the little reindeer full of bloodlust. His cold red eyes were locked onto him as the pirate hunter's hands gripped his swords tighter and shook with the anticipation of seeing the reindeer's blood. One more step and Zoro would have cut Chopper to pieces without hesitation.

To get the swordsman's attention back on the fight, Luffy leaped forward aiming a roundhouse kick at Zoro's head but the pirate hunter only ducked down and dodged the blow with that same inhuman speed as before. The captain's leg stretched from the momentum as the long piece of rubber extended above Zoro's head. He looked up at the leg as his gaze grew colder with bloodlust again. The pirate hunter tightened the grip on his katana slashing his swords up to cut off Luffy's legs but the rubber man dodged in time, pulling back his extended limbs as quickly as he could. 'That was close! One more second and my legs would have been gone...' The captain pointed out remembering the fact that Zoro could even cut steel, cutting through rubber would be nothing for him.

While Luffy was lost in thought Zoro saw an opening, crossing his blades in front of him and leaped towards the straw hat captain with all his might. Using his momentum and incredible strength he slashed his swords aiming for Luffy's chest. At the last second, the rubber man was able to leap back and reduce to damage making the X shaped cut in his chest a lot shallower and less deadly than Zoro intended. Nevertheless blood still oozed out of the open cut and dripped down Luffy's stomach as the captain grunted in pain, causing the swordsman to smirk darkly as he licked Luffy's blood off of his katana slowly.

"Zoro..." The captain said sadly with a pained voice causing the swordsman's smile to drop as Zoro surprisingly stopped his attacks. "I don't want to hurt my nakama... But..." Luffy looked down at his injured hands again not knowing what else he could do. Luffy couldn't stop himself from hesitating every time he was about to attack his nakama knowing that the captain could injure the swordsman even more. The rubber man's body shook as he forced himself to take another step forward, unable to stake the reluctance out of his heart.

After hearing Luffy's yell along with the captain's wavering voice Zoro struggled to gain control once again, his eyes flashing back to their original colour for a split second. "D-don't hold back! Where's your resolve!?" An exhausted and strained but loud voice echoed past the swordsman's lips with the recognizable determination and fire. The tone wavering vigorously between dark and worried. If anybody would be able to reach the swordsman at this point, it would be Luffy. He always knew exactly what to say to Zoro, every time despite the situation. Because of the captain's tone of voice and his wavering words the pirate hunter was able to fight his demon side to take control once again, even if it was only for a split second.

Zoro squeezed his eyes closed as he felt the demon taking control once again. It was too strong to hold on any longer… He said what he wanted to say and now he just hoped that Luffy would no longer hold back. The swordsman didn't what to hurt him again… He didn't want Luffy to die. He wouldn't be able to take the pain if he killed his captain.

Zoro struggled yet another futile battle to stay in control just a bit longer but to no avail… That's when the cold grin washed over his expression. The pirate hunter's eyes flashed back to red as Zoro's last bit of control slipped away. He couldn't resist his demon side any longer and it took over him once again.

The captain looked at his swordsman with new found determination and resolve squatting down slowly. Luffy took all the hesitation out of his heart this time and touched his limp hand to the floor gently so he wouldn't injure them anymore. Crimson liquid dripped down the rubber man's blue fingers as they dangled between his legs. Luffy's other hand was dangling from his thigh as he placed his lower arm firmly on top of the rubber man's upper leg. "I'm not going to go easy on you anymore Zoro... Just like you asked." Luffy warned with a strong resolve flowing through him. "I'm going to win this and get you back no matter what!" He yelled as his legs crumpled up and extended again pumping his blood to make it move faster through his body. Luffy started glowing red as steam emitted off of the rubber man's skin. "Second Gear!"

**((Authors Note: That's the end of this chapter! The only experience I have of writing fighting scenes is from role playing so let me know if I can improve them in any way! Luffy vs Zoro round two will come out in chapter 7 as soon as possible!))**


	7. Regret

# Regret

**((Author's Note: Hey! Sorry again for the long wait! School's been keeping me super busy lately! Thank you for all the encouragement and reviews! I really appreciate them! I hope you guys are enjoying the Fanfiction! XD))**

Luffy's glowing body didn't make Zoro waver for even a second. It seemed that the swordsman didn't even care about the new form his captain took, either that or he was too focused on blood to notice. In a flash, the rubber man disappeared and reappeared behind the pirate hunter, his movements where so fast that it looked like he teleported there. "Gum Gum jet whip!" The rubber man cried as Luffy threw a high speed kick aimed at the back of Zoro's head. Using his own inhuman speed, the swordsman placed his sword behind him in time to block the attack. Luffy's leg hit the flat part of the blade and retracted back to the rubber man in an instant. While Luffy was still airborne Zoro spun around creating a tornado of slashes that rose up from the ground but his attack seemed different from before. The swordsman's dark aura mixed in with the slashes creating a tornado of darkness.

"Dragon Twister." The swordsman muttered darkly as he waited to hear Luffy's scream. The cry of pain never came as the captain moved away in the blink of an eye appearing behind the swordsman once again. The rubber man's leg was already stretched out far above Zoro's head before the swordsman could even turn around. Luffy brought down his foot with all the strength he could muster on top of the pirate hunter.

"Gum Gum Jet Axe!" He yelled as the foot came down with such speed that the Straw Hats only saw a blur. The leg hit down strongly on Zoro's shoulder, it was so powerful that the shockwave shook the entire boat as the swordsman's body hit the deck. At the moment of impact Zoro's dark aura bursted out of control causing a flicker of pain to take over Luffy's eyes as he followed through with the attack. The pain was quickly washed over with resolve, as he pulled his leg back to him and away from the aura.

The pirate hunter didn't make a sound despite the fact that it was such a powerful attack and the dark aura was still surrounding his body. Zoro lied on the ground motionlessly for only seconds until he started to get up limply, his body swaying slightly in the process. The pirate hunter looked at Luffy once again with the same demonic eyes as before with no pain expressed on his face, as if he was unaffected by the attack. Luffy gritted his teeth together frustrated that his attack didn't do anything.

He jumped up as high as he could in another blur putting the bottom of his feet together with a clap from his sandals. "Gum Gum Jet Spear!" He chanted again with more anger in his voice this time as the two feet stretched down too quickly for the swordsman to react, hitting Zoro in the chest this time. Just like Luffy's last attack, the pirate hunter's dark aura bursted out of control when he was hit causing Luffy to wince in pain as the swordsman's body struck the deck harshly creating a shockwave throughout the boat from the impact. A little bit of blood escaped from the side of the pirate hunter's mouth as Luffy's legs came back to him with a snap. He fell back down to the deck lightly, barley making a noise as he locked his gaze onto Zoro to see if his swordsman would get up again. Luffy knew that he must have broken some of the swordsman's ribs with that attack, even though they were already broken to begin with.

Bloodthirsty red eyes snapped open and shifted towards Luffy causing the rubber man to jolt forward as if he was going to be attacked. The swordsman got up again, swaying back and forth limply, in sync with the waves bellow him. "Show me..." A cold voice escaped from Zoro's lips so full of bloodlust that it was shaking. A slight smirk played across the pirate hunter's lips around the katana in his mouth as he took a step forward towards Luffy who backed away slightly, still waiting for an attack. "Show me your blood!" Zoro demanded darkly moving faster towards his captain. The pirate hunter placed the two swords in his hands behind the katana in his mouth gripping them a little bit tighter. "Tiger Trap." He chanted whipping his swords out from behind the katana in his mouth and slashing downwards at Luffy's chest.

The captain raised his hands to block until he saw the blue, bloody mess that they've become. Luffy widened his eyes slightly seeing that his technique was making them bleed twice as much as before. He got a little light headed stumbling forward and giving Zoro an opening. Without mercy, the swordsman brought his swords down with all his might deeply slashing Luffy's right shoulder straight down his chest to his right hip. More blood gushed out of the two gash wounds, splashing on the deck floor and all over Zoro. The captain shouted weakly in pain stumbling backwards and using all of his willpower not to fall over. The pirate hunter smirked widely as his eyes grew colder than ever before. He began chuckling darkly while he looked at the captain's blood splattered all over his body.

"LUFFY!" The pirates screeched at their bleeding captain as the terror of Luffy dying struck all of the Straw Hat's hearts. The rubber man swayed back and forth weakly as he took a step towards the swordsman once again.

"I-it's... It's n-not... Over..." The captain coughed out as his entire body shook. "Gum Gum..." Luffy began to say ready to attack his swordsman with another kick when Zoro's dark face came very close to Luffy's in an instant, so fast that the rubber man didn't notice until it was too late. Just from this fight, the swordsman's demon became so strong that it could surpass the speed of Luffy's second gear.

The rubber man widened his eyes in shock too weak to move out of the way. With the same mercilessness from before, the swordsman thrusted his katana at Luffy's heart.

A second before the steel pierced through Luffy, the captain noticed his swordsman's expression flicker back to normal for only a second. It was full of despair and sadness but he still couldn't control his body. The sword pierced the left side of Luffy's chest splashing more blood on to the swordsman as his katana thrusted through the rubber man's body.

"NOOOO!" The Straw Hats yelled in anguish and shock seeing Zoro's blood stained sword run their captain through. Luffy's eyes shook as he grunted in pain, coughing up a splash of blood as his second gear faded away. The swordsman's smirk grew wider and more bloodthirsty as he ripped his sword out of Luffy sending more blood splashing on Zoro.

"I-I...'m... so...rr...y..." The captain struggled to say. His voice was shaking as tears rolled down the rubber man's cheeks. 'I wasn't able to save you...' Luffy thought to himself with regret, unable to say another word as he lost consciousness. Zoro's smirk disappeared and his eyes widened watching his captain fall lifelessly to the ground.

"Lu…ffy...?" Zoro questioned slowly not believing his eyes and looked down at his hands gripped around the katana to see that they were stained with Luffy's blood. His entire body started to shake as the swordsman began to breathe heavily. His dark expression faded to anguish as he dropped his three swords to the floor, falling down onto his knees. "LUFFY!" The pirate hunter yelled in a panic as the dark aura disappeared and his fangs retracted back to normal teeth.

The pirates finally snapped themselves out of their shock running towards the motionless rubber man. Sanji, Franky and Robin slid between Luffy and Zoro ready to attack the swordsman. It did say that it was impossible for the half-demon to regain control once his fangs appeared… So how could they be sure that whoever just yelled was really Zoro…? They knew that he could turn back into a demon any minute and attack again. The rest of his nakama ran by the captain's side. Luffy's body was soon surrounded by a puddle of his own blood causing the Straw Hat's hearts shattered.

'I... Killed Luffy...' The swordsman thought to himself as tears formed in his eyes. 'Luffy's dead and I... killed... him...' Zoro looked at the palm of his hands seeing Luffy's blood all over them. The pirate hunter squeezed his eyes shut placing his shaking hands over his tanned face with regret causing some of Luffy's blood to rub off on his cheeks. The terrified looks edged on the Straw Hat's faces didn't fade away despite seeing Zoro breaking down in front of them. They were still looking at the swordsman like he was a monster, to the swordsman it was as if they were contemplating to kill him right then and there. Zoro almost wished they would so he wouldn't have to hurt any more of his nakama. It's what he deserved after all, for killing one of his closest friends in cold blood.

Nami knelt down beside her captain on the verge of having a breakdown but the navigator knew that Luffy didn't have time for her to collapse so she held it in, waiting for the doctor to give out orders. Nami wanted to help in any way she could, ignoring the fact that her skirt and legs where now covered in the captain's blood. Chopper wept quietly to himself still keeping a steady grip on his equipment while checking Luffy's vital signs. The reindeer cleared his mind of everything that didn't have to do with the captain's medical condition and continued his checkup professionally, forgetting about everything that he just witnessed for the moment. Luffy's blood pressure was severely low, a weak pulse, his heart was beating irregularly and the rubber man was taking quick, shallow breaths unable to get the air he needed. "Luffy's going into shock! Nami, lift Luffy's feet 12 inches off the ground!" He demanded anxiously but professionally. The navigator nodded lifting Luffy's feet slowly feeling his icy cold, clammy skin on the palm of her hands. She placed his legs on her lap not questioning the doctor's orders even though she couldn't understand his reasoning due to her lack of medical knowledge. Chopper had saved all their lives before and Nami trusted that he could do it again. "Brook, get me something warm like a coat or a blanket!" The doctor ordered not taking his gaze off of Luffy for even a second.

"Alright!" The musician nodded whipping away his tears and started to run towards the closest door to them grabbing the first thing he saw. Chopper whipped out his bandages starting to wrap up Luffy's more severe injuries first. As soon as the white bandages made contact with the captain's cut up skin they were stained red causing Nami to shutter. When the doctor was finally finished wrapping Luffy up to stop the bleeding Brook came running back with a thick brown blanket slung over his shoulder. He handed it to Chopper who gently placed it over Luffy's shivering body.

"Everything is going to be ok..." Chopper said worryingly trying to reassure Luffy but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything. "It must be some kind of miracle... The blade just barely missed his heart, but it still missed..." Chopper knew something must have happened, with Zoro's skills he could easily have stabbed his katana through Luffy's heart so why did it miss?

The swordsman widened his eyes slowly brining his hands down from his face. "Luffy's going to live?" Zoro asked quietly to himself, still shaken up. Chopper changed to his heavy point form and lifted his small blue bag off the ground.

"He should be ok to move now. We have to bring him to the infirmity to continue the treatment." The doctor said grimly realizing that he might have given his nakama false hope. "Robin can you make a stretcher? We can't move him like this..." The archaeologist nodded quietly crossing her arms as a bunch of hands came sprouting out from the ground grabbing onto one another until the net of arms resembled a stretcher. "Alright, lift him carefully now." Chopper warned taking a firm but gentle grip on Luffy's shoulders as Nami stood up, taking his legs. They both placed him gently on the handmade stretcher and the three of them carried him off to the infirmary quickly but carefully as the rest of Luffy's crew stayed on the deck with Zoro.

After what felt like hours Chopper and the girls finally got in the infirmary and shut the door firmly behind them. When Zoro was sure they were gone he finally stood up keeping his head down, causing a shadow to cover his red eyes. Zoro's movement made his nakama jump into their fighting position getting ready for the swordsman to attack them again. The pirate hunter just slowly picked up his katana and placed them back in his sheath feeling the heavy silence of the room, along with the killing intent of his nakama. "Aren't you gonna say anything Zoro!?" Sanji growled angrily thinking that Zoro was still under the demon's control. He took a step forward and rose his foot slowly for an attack when the swordsman lifted his head getting rid of the shadows and revealing a small tear running down Zoro's face. He glanced at Sanji with empty eyes causing the blonde's heart to drop. The pirate hunter's eyes looked so sorrowful, like he had nothing left to live for. The Straw Hats swallowed hard seeing the swordsman's gaze drop back to the ground as Zoro turned his back to them.

"What a splendid show!" A sly voice echoed through the darkened sky as the sound of clapping ringed in their ears. "You did well, Roronoa Zoro." The swordsman tensed up turning his head slowly to where the voice was coming from. Yusuke was sitting high up on the main mast of the ship while his assistant stood closely next to him standing so stiffly that he looked like a marine. "It seems like the nightmare worked better than expected. I'm still quite surprised that you were able to regain control once you turned, but that can be fixed with a little more time." He sneered with a wide smirk on his face.

"So you… were responsible for that dream…?" The swordsman asked unsuccessfully suppressing his broken and sorrowful shaking voice. Yusuke slowly nodded as Zoro's entire body shuttered remembering the horrifying dream of his nakama being slaughtered right in front of him. The swordsman remembered how useless he was, he remembered how he couldn't do anything to save his friends but quickly shook it off reminding himself that it was only a dream.

Sanji glanced at Zoro and Yusuke remembering how terrified the swordsman looked when the cook found him in the infirmary. He remembered how strong his dark aura was, and how much it hurt too. Seeing Zoro shake just from remembering his dream, made Sanji unable imagine what the swordsman went through.

Yusuke jumped down from the mast calmly and gracefully as his assistant followed close behind. "Ah, but it was more than a dream." The purple haired man said as if he was reading the swordsman's mind. Yusuke chuckled again walking towards Zoro.

"What… do you mean?" The swordsman asked with a threatening yet still despair filled voice, shooting Yusuke an intimidating glare. The only thing that kept Zoro going was the hope that Luffy would live. The purple haired man just chuckled louder at the tone. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the pirate hunter, too fast for anybody to react. He placed his hand underneath the swordsman's chin gently, raising his head and looking deeply into Zoro's eyes.

"What a beautiful shade of red." The man said darkly, ignoring Zoro's question. The pirate hunter drew his sword slashing at Yusuke angrily with all his might. The purple haired man simply jumped back, dodging the swing easily. "My, my, now wasn't that uncalled for?" He teased continuing to smirk at Zoro coldly. The swordsman really couldn't take this anymore… Zoro couldn't help but use anger to keep his body moving… Anger is what stopped his sadness from taking over and crushing his every will to live.

The Straw Hats reached the end of their patience sliding between the two of them. Half of the pirates where facing Zoro and the other half where facing Yusuke as if they were both the enemy. "Ah, I see that the trust in your swordsman has already faded." The purple haired man laughed shifting his gaze between the two Straw Hats facing him. He smiled to himself thinking about how weak they looked, his so called 'opponents' where only a cyborg in underwear and a pile of bones. They seemed so fragile, so easy to kill that this fight was more like a predator about to kill its prey. The thought made Yusuke's whole body tremble in excitement.

"I shall not let you take a single step towards Zoro-san..." Brook threatened pointing the tip of his sword at Yusuke. The skeleton's determination only made the purple haired man laugh again. Yusuke lifted his foot slowly to take a step forward when Brook's sword thrusted quickly towards Yusuke forcing him to jump back.

"Oh? So that indeed, wasn't a bluff." Yusuke mocked as his smirk grew wider. The purple hair man sighed placing his fingertips lightly against his forehead and leaned back. "I'm getting quite tired of this nonsense. I have no interest in the two of you." Yusuke taunted as he picked up the pace.

The next thing Brook saw was the purple haired man right in front of him; Yusuke was too fast to see any of his movements. He was even too fast to see a blur as he moved; Yusuke was even faster than Luffy and Zoro! The musician froze in place unable to react as the sound of multiple bullets being fired boomed in his ear.

"Weapons Left!" Franky announced determinedly. Despite the bullet's speed, the purple haired man leaped back easily dodging the bullets. "Don't even think about it!" The ship write warned as Yusuke landed graciously beside his assistant.

"How interesting... You actually think you can defeat me?" The purple haired man chuckled darkly sighing with pleasure when he was finished. "Don't make me laugh, mere humans can never wish to attain the power of a demon. That includes your half breed friend over there." He sneered with a hint of anger in his voice. His glance shifted over to the green haired swordsman as Yusuke started to listen in on the Straw Hat's conversation.

"O-oi Zoro! Is that you?" Usopp asked trembling behind Sanji as the two of them tried to look into Zoro's red eyes. The swordsman refused to meet their gaze continuing to look at the deck bellow him. He watched the grass blow lightly in the breeze, without a care in the world, without even caring that it was covered in Luffy's blood.

"I... don't know..." The pirate hunter answered his voice wavering vigorously as he sued such a broken tone to respond. He remembered when this all started, how Zoro thought he was in complete control of himself when he woke up, he thought that everything was going to be ok. Then... just the slightest drop of blood caused him to attack Luffy. This whole situation was just too familiar… It made Zoro sick to his stomach.

Throughout this struggle Sanji silently observed Zoro's behavior deducing that the swordsman was in control for the time being, but no one knew when he would turn again. The fact that Zoro's eyes haven't turned to normal again made the blonde uneasy. The swordsman's eyes usually fade to their original color after he gains control for a few seconds and that's also the time when Zoro feels the pain from all of his injuries. So why is it taking so long for them to turn back now? "Either way... This isn't the time to think about that." The cook said to himself out loud turning to face Yusuke with Franky and Brook. "Usopp, watch the marimo..." Sanji muttered to the sniper with his back turned. The cook knew he wasn't able to do much with his broken arms but he couldn't just sit back and watch either, not again...

"Ah... So one more pawn dares to challenge the king." Yusuke jeered cunningly watching the blonde get into his fighting stance. Sanji stared back at him in disgust and hatred. "Oh my, what a scary look." The purple hair man said sarcastically, mocking the cook. "Maybe you should have followed the lead of your long nosed friend over there." Yusuke grinned watching Usopp back away slowly towards Zoro.

"Usopp's just preparing for the main event!" Franky yelled running towards Yusuke. Kurayami had enough of waiting and took a step forward to protect his master but was waved off almost immediately.

"Now don't be so hasty Kurayami. Let's have a little bit of fun before we leave. These ants were able to peek my interested." When the cyborg finally got into range of the purple haired man he began throwing a barrage of punches at Yusuke trying to land a hit.

"Franky Boxing!" The ship write chanted trying to punch faster and faster as the purple haired man fluttered between his attacks like a falling leaf, dodging every blow. After seeing Yusuke dodge his punches so easily Franky pulled back his fists taking a deep breath and exhaling a strong burst of fire at the demon. "Fresh Fire!" Franky yelled jumping back to watch his enemy burn.

"Interesting... I didn't know humans could breathe fire." Yusuke pondered sounding completely unaffected by the attack. As the fire cleared, it revealed an empty space with nothing but burnt grass.

"That's because I'm a cyborg!" Franky announced into the open air having no idea where Yusuke was. "And there's a lot more where that came from!" The ship write stated proudly masking over his worry that one of his strongest attacks didn't do anything.

"A cyborg? How intriguing!" Yusuke smiled, analyzing the blue haired man. Zoro and Usopp's eyes widened when they felt a chill from behind them pass through their body. He turned around slowly seeing Yusuke looking down at them, smiling darkly. "Yet it seems that even in your manufactured body you can't keep up with me."

Without a moment of hesitation Zoro drew his sword getting up and spinning around to slash Yusuke quickly. The Straw Hat's all froze in place seeing Zoro's empty eyes grow angrier as the purple haired man dodged his slash effortlessly.

"Oh how interesting... So you still have enough will power to regain complete control after all." The demon snickered as his dark smirk grew wider. "That won't last much longer." The Straw Hats turned towards the swordsman slowly seeing Zoro's empty red eyes finally fade to their original color as the pirate hunter dropped weakly onto his knees starting to pant heavily. Yusuke laughed darkly as he watched Zoro stab his sword into the ground desperately trying to get up. "What a pitiful creature." The purple haired man sighed as he reached to push the swordsman over.

To his surprise the pirate hunter grabbed Yusuke's hand squeezing it tightly. Zoro looked up from the ground and gave the purple haired man an intimidating look, tightening his grip on Yusuke's arm. "I'm not... your damn pawn...!" Zoro snarled angrily as he weakly pulled his katana out from the ground and slashed at the demon. With the pirate hunter's injured state Yusuke was able to use two of his fingers to effortlessly catch Zoro's katana.

"Oh? You are not my pawn?" The purple haired man's smile dropped slightly as he grabbed the swordsman's head covering Zoro's eyes slightly. The pirate hunter glared at Yusuke through the purple haired man's fingers refusing to back down. "Your eyes... You think you're my equal?" The demon asked in a sly tone. "A half breed like you could never be my equal." Yusuke raised his voice slightly with a hint of anger showing through the mocking tone. He tightened his grip on the pirate hunter's face lifting him slowly off the ground. However, Zoro kept the tight grip on his sword and placed his other hand weakly on the purple haired man's arm trying to break free of the grip, but it was no use.

"Relax, it's too soon for me to kill you. I still have use for your power." Yusuke smiled at Zoro's useless struggling as the swordsman gasped for breath. "Since you're such a stubborn little one I'll have to give your demon a bit more of an edge~!" He sneered, licking his lips at the thought of what he was about to do.

When Zoro's struggling finally died down due to his injured state and lack of oxygen a dark aura started to cover Yusuke and absorb into the pirate hunter's body. "W-Wha…-" The pirate hunter stuttered being cut off by a wave of pain as his eyes widened. The swordsman's aura began bursting out of control and his grip loosened on his swords. Yusuke increased the size of his aura causing the swordsman to start yelling in pain.

"Zoro!" The Straw Hats yelled watching Yusuke pump his aura into their swordsman as Zoro's blood curling screams ringed in their ears.

...

The swordsman closed and reopened his eyes seeing nothing but darkness. This place was quite familiar to him now, but something was missing. Suddenly Zoro's train of thought was stopped by a severe pain in the fingers on his right hand and winced grabbing them. 'W-what the...?' The swordsman looking down at his fingers and only could make out the outline of them. They were completely black blending into the background. He widened his eyes seeing the darkness begin to crawl up his hand as more pain flushed over him. Zoro grabbed his hand trying to stop the darkness from spreading any further but even with all of his efforts he could only slow it down. 'What's going on!?' The swordsman asked painfully straining to slow the darkness down by even a little bit.

"It seems that your will power isn't as strong as you thought, Roronoa Zoro." Another voice echoed in the darkness. The shadow began crawling up his arm as more intense pain coursed through his newly darkened limb. The pirate hunter gritted his teeth together as he felt his consciousness slipping away.

'Why are you here!?' Zoro shouted angrily recognizing Yusuke's sly voice. He let go of his hurting hand about to reach for his swords when dark arms grabbed him from behind holding the swordsman still with inhuman strength. Zoro turned his head to see a lit up smile in the darkness and narrowed his eyes. 'Let go!' The swordsman said threateningly but his voice soon went from an intimidating tone to anguish. Zoro started shouting in pain as the darkness spread up to his elbow. It seemed like the more he was devoured, the more intense the pain was.

"Relax Roronoa Zoro, I just have some helpful information... I'm sure you've noticed by now, that you are slowly being devoured." The swordsman didn't even have to speak to answer Yusuke's question, the look of desperation on his face said it all. "Well, you know better than anyone that when you lose consciousness you also lose control of yourself..."

'Where... are you going with this!?' Zoro asked weakly still trying to manage a threatening tone and push the pain out of his voice.

Yusuke licked his lips slowly, exited to see what would happen next. "Well, I just gave your demon side... A little push. At this stage if you let down your guard for even a second, if you fall asleep, relax, do anything to lose your willpower or to strengthen your demon side, you'll be devoured by your demon side instantly and there will be no coming back."

'Devoured... by my demon side?' Zoro chocked out quietly struggling to raise his head. He coughed up blood and grabbed his face trying to stay conscious.

"Precisely! In addition to seeing blood... Now you'll lose control if you feeling strong emotions, like anger..." Yusuke said with a growing smile. Zoro widened his eyes making the purple haired man's face light up in pleasure at the swordsman's despair. The figure finally let go of Zoro causing him to stumble forward slightly.

'So I don't have much time left...' The swordsman said to himself grimly looking at his arm. 'I won't let this thing devour me...' The swordsman grabbed his arm again squeezing it tightly as the darkness crawled up passed his elbow.

"Don't fight it! Give in to what you really want, power, blood, death!" The figure said darkly giving Zoro a sick, twisted smile.

'Not this crap again... I already told you I-' The swordsman's eyes widened yelling in pain as his legs collapsed from under him. Thinking about blood made the darkness move twice as fast up his arm and was now to his shoulder. Zoro hunched over on the ground grabbing his arm as tightly as he could desperately trying to make the searing pain stop.

The purple haired man laughed darkly moving a strand of hair away from his face. "It's only about time now, you'll be completely devoured any minute, and then you'll be ready." Yusuke said excitedly.

'Ready... For... What?' Zoro asked slowly in between gasps shifting his gaze up at Yusuke forcing himself to stop yelling from the pain to hear the purple haired man's answer.

"I'm going to use you, Roronoa Zoro, to exterminate the human race, starting with the East Blue!" Flashes of Zoro's nakama flood his mind and he narrowed his eyes.

'Why...? Do you want... to destroy humans!?' The pirate hunter choked out climbing to his feet and breathing heavily.

"Humans are such weak and pitiful creatures, I'm doing them a favor in all honesty. I just hate seeing such weaklings living amongst kings. They need to know their place... I'll make them suffer for daring to see me as their equal." The purple haired man explained with a sick grin. "I hate half breeds like you the most, mixing the blood of a god with the blood of an ant. How sickening! That's why I'm going to make you suffer the most, Roronoa Zoro..." Yusuke finished as his lips curled up further.

'Bull shit...' Zoro muttered reaching for his sword as he heard the figure laughing uncontrollably. 'You want to kill so many people just because you think you're superior!?' The swordsman shouted angrily gripping his sword when unbearable pain shot through his body as a blood curling scream escaped him.

"What did I say about getting angry?" Yusuke mocked as the darkness started to spread to Zoro's neck. The swordsman shouted louder and gripped his arm tighter as the figure's laughter rung at an ear blasting volume continuing to grow louder.

...

The swordsman's screams began to sound louder and more painful infuriating the Straw Hats to a point where they we're about to explode. Sanji quickly took a step forward with a furious look on his face but jolted back quickly against his will. Franky grabbed the cook's shirt just in time to stop him. "What do you think you're going to do with those arms of yours? Just stay put." The cyborg said sternly letting go of the blonde's shirt slowly. "Brook's got this!"

While the demon was focused on Zoro, Brook ran out from behind the cyborg lunging at the purple haired man with his steel blade making sure not to hit his nakama. The skeleton thought it was the perfect time since the demon had dropped his guard but to Brook's surprise Yusuke stepped to the side easily dodging the sword in an instant. "It's not very polite to interrupt." The demon taunted as his aura faded. He dropped Zoro to the ground causing the swordsman to fall limply to the ground groaning quietly in pain.

Yusuke placed his hand by his side to reveal a purple hilt as he swiftly pulled out a long katana. The purple haired man leaned forward hitting the skeleton in the stomach with its hilt then quickly putting the blade back in one quick movement. The impact caused Brook to fly back and lose grip on his sword as the blade fell to the ground.

"Brook!" Franky, Sanji and Usopp yelled as the skeleton's light body soared into the ship write's hands. The cyborg caught his nakama before he hit the deck easily because of the musician's light weight.

"You ok?" Franky asked worryingly. The skeleton moved his bones making small clicking noises as he stood up and brushed off his cloths.

"I'm quite alright Franky-san." Brook said calmly looking at his sword which was now lying on the ground close to Yusuke, Zoro and Usopp. "I'm afraid that my sword is now out of reach though." The skeleton informed his nakama sadly.

"Now, now, relax everyone. As I said before I'm not here to kill your swordsman. I just gave him a helping hand, that's all." He said smiling as he looked down at the swordsman groaning in pain bellow him.

"Come Kurayami, we've completed our goal for today." Yusuke laughed again jumping back to the edge of the boat as his assistant followed. "Be careful... Your demon is only getting stronger. It's only a matter of time before you're devoured." The purple haired man sneered jumping off the Sunny into the water just like last time. "The demon will feast on your will, until there is nothing left." He warned before he fell out of sight.

The Straw Hats watched Yusuke leave carefully, unable to stop him. Once he was out of sight Usopp, Brook, Sanji and Franky ran towards the swordsman who was still hunched over on the ground in pain. The sniper bent down to help Zoro when his hands where quickly swatted away by the swordsman.

"I'm fine...!" Zoro lied quickly as blood escaped from the side of his mouth. He didn't want anybody to go anywhere near him… He was absolutely disgusted with himself. "I'm... Not the one you have to w-worry about right now." He said as sternly as he possibly could in his condition. Now that Yusuke was gone so was the anger that Zoro was feeling… The swordsman's expression sank back down to empty anguish as he stared at the ground bellow him. Pity from his nakama was the last thing Zoro wanted right now, especially after what he did to Luffy. The swordsman hoped that his captain was alright, Luffy was the one that everybody needed to focus on. Zoro refused to have anyone worry about him, he was the enemy after all...

...

"Nami pass me the oxygen mask! Robin get be the intravenous!" Chopper ordered sending the girls scrambling around the infirmity while he checked Luffy's vitals another time. The two of them practically turned the whole room upside down to find the items they were looking for as quickly as possible. The girls handed the oxygen mask and the intravenous liquids to Chopper as quickly as they could, breathing heavily from the panic. Once he had the equipment, the doctor hooked Luffy up to the intravenous and oxygen somehow looking more anxious then before.

"Chopper what's wrong?" Nami asked hesitantly scared to hear the answer to her question.

"Luffy's arteries and veins close to his heart are severely damaged." Chopper sniffled taking a ragged breath of air unable to calm himself down. "He's going through hypovolemic shock and neurogenic shock... His heart rate keeps on decreasing too..." The doctor said with a shaking voice full of hopelessness still managing to sound professional. "At this rate... Luffy will die within 3 hours."

Nami and Robin's hearts stopped at that very moment looking over at their motionless captain. "W-what... Is h-hypovolemic shock and neurogenic shock?" Nami asked slowly with a wavering voice.

"Hypovolemic shock is from bleeding and neurogenic shock is from severe emotional disturbance..." Robin answered sounding very distracted as if she was talking to herself. "Considering the situation, those are the two most likely causes for his symptoms." The archeologist said agreeing with Chopper.

"Well how can we save him!?" Nami shouted in a pleading voice putting her shaking hands on the doctor's shoulders, squeezing them tightly.

"I've done all I can... It's up to Luffy now..." Chopper said emotionlessly lowering his head and causing his pink hat to cover his eyes. The doctor turned around slowly starting to walk towards the door. "I better go check on the others..." The reindeer said grimly. "Can one of you stay to watch Luffy?" He asked opening the door slowly and walking out onto the deck.

"Don't worry about it Nami, I'll watch the captain for a while, go clean up and get some rest." Robin said smiling calmly and sitting down in the chair next to Luffy's bed.

"Alright Robin, thank you." Nami nodded sadly walking slowly after Chopper onto the deck. When the door finally swung closed Robin's smile dropped as she stared sadly at her unconscious captain.

'I'm use to sitting here for Zoro... not you Luffy. You're always the one to cheer us up with that goofy grin of yours.' The archaeologist thought remembering the countless times she was by the swordsman's bedside. 'First Sanji and now you Luffy...' Robin contemplated, thinking about her nakama's fights with Zoro. 'How much worse can this possibly get?'

**((Author's Note: That the end of another chapter! :3 I hope you found it interesting! Chapter 8 will hopefully come out quicker than this one!))**


	8. Promise

# Promise

**((Authors Note: Thank you guys for all the kind words and encouragement! Please keep reviewing so I can make my story as good as possible! It's really appreciated!))**

Zoro wasn't known for his goofy smiles or outrages behaviour. Even though he'd always get mad at the Straw Hat's antics there was always a certain glimmer of happiness that could be found in his eyes. Now... There was nothing but emptiness and sorrow. No glimmer and no rare smile that he sometimes showed through his scowl. When was the last time Zoro smiled? Nobody could remember...

...

Chopper emerged from the infirmary with Nami following close behind and slowly made his way onto the shadowy deck without looking into any of his nakama's eyes. All of the Straw Hats watched him carefully, studying his expression for any subtle hints in Luffy's condition before the reindeer spoke. From the looks of it, there would be no good news so they all braced themselves for the worst. However, Zoro didn't look at anybody. He remained completely still, keeping his back to everyone but still listening in on what the doctor had to say.

Chopper took a glance up at the clouds that where still blocking the sun's ray from shining on the deck of the ship before speaking. "I did the best I could." The doctor stated tonelessly. "It could go either way at this point, but it seems like we are going to know in 3 hours' time if Luffy will pull through or not." A slight shutter came from the reindeer as he desperately tried not to cry so he could stay professional.

"Can we see Luffy-san?" Brook asked in a worried tone. Despite the skeleton not having a face, they could all tell how distressed the musician was by his grim, wavering voice.

"No, Luffy's in no condition for visitors. But we will have someone watching him at all times." The doctor answered firmly. "Now let me check all of your injuries." Chopper said changing the subject quickly. He scanned each of his nakama from head to toe finding that Sanji, Zoro and Brook needed treatment while the rest of them looked uninjured. "What happened Brook!?" Chopper questions worryingly seeing scrapes all over Brook's bones that weren't there before.

"Nothing... Don't worry about it Chopper." Sanji interjected grimly. The doctor new that was a lie, injuries don't just appear out of nowhere but he took that answer anyways, agreeing that the Straw Hat's health was his priority.

Chopper took a hesitant step in Zoro's direction seeing that he was in the worst condition out of the three pirates on the deck when a sudden inexplicable fear struck him. The reindeer's entire body started to shake as he froze in place unable to move forward. The swordsman's cold eyes and dark words all flashed through Chopper's mind at one time like a nightmare. He was so stricken by fear that it made the reindeer imagine his nakama as a demon about to slaughter him. "H-hey, Z-Zoro... Y-your injuries look pretty bad... Umm... Let me treat you..." The doctor stuttered quietly with obvious fear in his voice.

Zoro cringed at his nakama's tone, tensing up and gritting his teeth together. "I'm fine Chopper..." The swordsman muttered quietly in a distant sounding tone starting to walk to the back of the ship, as far away from his nakama as possible. Zoro tried to force himself to walk straight but swaying back and forth against his will, needing to use the wall to stay on his feet.

Hearing Zoro's broken up voice snapped the reindeer out of his fear leaving nothing but regret behind. "Wait! You have to be treated!" Chopper cried in desperation after hearing his nakama's crushed voice. The reindeer hadn't realized how much his fear hurt the swordsman.

Zoro squeezed his eyes shut while forming his hands into tight fists. "I said I'm fine Chopper!" The swordsman snapped, raising his voice as loud as it would go without causing him to cough. Zoro's sharp tone caused Chopper to retreat behind Sanji without uttering another word as tears formed in the little reindeer's eyes.

There was a looming silence over the deck for a long while as if all time itself had come to a standstill. Finally, Zoro slowly unclenched his fists opening his eyes and muttering in a barely audible volume. "I'm sorry." As he continued to walk towards the back of the ship.

When Zoro was finally far enough away to be unable to hear him, Sanji looked down at the little reindeer using the softest and kindest tone he could muster. "Don't worry about it Chopper. I'll kick some sense into him later. You'll be able to treat that shitty swordsman after he's calmed down. If he stills refuses I'll hold him down for you ok?" The cook forced a small grin on his face which undoubtedly lifted the doctor's spirits, even if it was only by a little bit.

"Thank you Sanji." Chopper muttered looking at the ground. "Let's get you and Brook treated then." The doctor said back to the usual professional tone that he uses when treating his nakama.

Chopper started with the cook's two broken arms unwrapping the bandages to take a look. "Their healing at a remarkable rate. Within maybe a week or less you'll be able to move them again, but I would still suggest that you take it easy. Also, you're head injury is pretty much completely healed." With that he wrapped Sanji's arms back up in new bandages placing them gently back into the sling around his neck and took off the bandages around the cook's head.

"So does that mean that I'll be able to cook again soon?" The blonde asked excitably wiggling his fingers carefully to get rid of the tingly feeling in his arms.

"We'll see their condition after a couple more days." Chopper stated firmly showing he's an overly cautious doctor once again. After Sanji's treatment was done, Chopper moved on to the skeleton that was patiently waiting across from the doctor. Chopper could never really get use to treating someone who was already dead no matter how many times he did it, but the little reindeer always did his very best.

After a thorough examination Chopper wrapped the scratched bones tightly making sure that none of them where broken. "You should be fine Brook. There's nothing but a few scrapes." The reindeer said being slightly more at ease then before. He packed up his bandages back into the blue medical kit looking up at his nakama sorrowfully. "I should go back and stay with Luffy. I'm counting on you Sanji, come get me when I can treat Zoro. Please hurry..." The doctor almost begged. He wanted more than anything to just do what he normally does at times like this. Chopper pictured himself jumping onto the swordsman and wrestling the bandages onto his nakama by force but he knew that he couldn't do that this time. He knew what was going on with Zoro and despite the constant denial, Chopper was afraid that the swordsman would lose control and kill him if he tried to treat Zoro's injuries.

"Leave it to me Chopper." Sanji nodded still trying to use a gentle tone with the reindeer. With that, Chopper started to make his way back to the medical room but was stopped once again by the sound of the cook's encouraging voice. "Hey Chopper... This is Luffy and Zoro we're talking about. They're the two most stubborn guys I've ever met. They'll both be just fine." The blonde grinned slightly as he saw small tears splash on the grass bellow his furry nakama.

"Of course!" Chopper nodded and whipped away the tears in his now wet fur running towards the infirmary. The door shut with a slam when an overpowering crave for a cigarette hit Sanji. The blonde realized that he hadn't had one in a while and slowly reached for the pack in his pocket.

'At least this is easier to pull off then last time.' Sanji thought as he was finally able to grasp the tobacco placing it in his mouth and lighting it up with his other arm. However, despite the cook's efforts he couldn't quite get his hands to stop shaking.

Once he finally got the cigarette light up the blonde took the deepest breath he could manage inhaling all of the tobacco his lungs could take at once. The cook breathed out slowly but this time something's wasn't right. None of his worries escaped out of him when he exhaled, Sanji was just as nervous as before. Maybe nervous wasn't the best way to describe it, but that's all Sanji could think of.

Feeling a bit shaken up that a cigarette didn't help him to calm down the cook placed his hands back into their sling looking back at the remaining Straw Hats gathered on the deck. "I'll go deal with moss head over there now." Sanji announced walking slowly towards the swordsman at the back of the boat as if stalling for time. He rolled the cigarette between his lips biting down on the end of it lightly as he tried to ignore his nerves. 'I'm being stupid. Why am I even worried about those two?' The cook continued to repeat in his head.

...

When Sanji left the remaining nakama looked at each other sorrowfully, unable to believe the events that took place that day where real. The Straw Hats all wished it was only a nightmare that they would wake up from it soon many times before, but each time they were disappointed. All of them where too nervous to actually relax so they simply dispersed trying to do something that would get their minds off recent events. Since Chopper and Luffy weren't there Usopp sat on Sunny's swing alone, gently rocking back and forth while Franky made his way to the kitchen to get a bottle of cola. 'Zoro must be hungry. He hasn't eaten in a long time.' Nami thought to herself following close behind Franky to make something to eat for Zoro as Brook decided to play his violin quietly on deck trying to distract himself just like everyone else.

...

As the swordsman continued to walk to the back of the ship he was forced to use the wall more and more to keep himself upright. With every step a searing pain shot through Zoro's body making him feel as if he was lit on fire and the more he walked, the more intense the flames would get. Around half way through almost all of Zoro's weight was on the wall as he literally dragged himself forwards. Breathing heavily, the pirate hunter mentally kicked himself for being so weak before finally collapsing on the ground when he got close enough to the back of the ship.

Zoro took short painful gasps as he desperately tried to catch his breath but every time he'd breath a sharp sting would claw at the swordsman's chest. Zoro quickly wrapped his arms around his torso unable to stop breathing heavily as the pain continued to get worse. The swordsman's ribs where already mush to begin with and after taking those hits from Luffy he could imagine that the damage went straight to his lungs. 'So he's going to use me to kill every human in the world...' The swordsman thought remembering the conversation he had with Yusuke. 'Tsk, he'll be waiting forever then. This thing won't take over me, as long as I don't sleep, relax or feel strong emotions... This is nothing.' Zoro repeated to himself refusing to pass out while looking out at the water through the ship's railings. The swordsman chuckled while his lips rose slightly to a despair written smile. 'Maybe it would be better if I just left.'

Finally after what seemed like forever Zoro caught his breath returning the pain in his chest to a constant, dull feeling. 'Damn it... I'm so weak.' The swordsman thought mentally kicking himself again. Zoro slowly let go of his torso bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his muscular arms around his tanned legs. The pirate hunter lowered his head staring at the wooden deck in front of him. Every time another wave of sharp pain hit the swordsman's chest he squeezed his legs tightly, gritting his teeth together.

Zoro got so lost in thought that he didn't even hear the light footsteps of a certain perverted cook making their way to where the swordsman was. When Sanji got close enough to see the pained, troubled look on Zoro's face he took a deep breath and leaned on the wall next to his nakama casually taking another deep breath of his cigarette. "Man... What's wrong with you?" The cook said sounding slightly annoyed but kept himself relaxed. "Just let Chopper treat your injuries already dumb ass." Sanji demanded hiding his worry underneath anger.

"Get lost cook..." Zoro replied emotionlessly snapping himself out of his thought process. "It's none of your concern." The swordsman continued, staring at the same spot on the deck.

"What do you mean 'it's none of my concern' idiot!?" Sanji asked about to explode already. "As long as you're a part of this damn crew your health is all of our concerns, despite how annoying you get." The cook snapped biting down on the tobacco in his mouth, grinding it in between his teeth.

"You idiot... What makes you think I'm still a part of this crew?" The swordsman said squeezing his empty eyes shut tightly and placed his shaking hand over his face trying not to show weakness to the cook. "I'm the enemy... I tried to kill you guys. Now Luffy might die... All because I'm too damn weak." Zoro shuttered as his voice shook along with his entire body. The swordsman grasped his face tighter digging his nails into his skin as he felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Sanji stayed silent as his anger sunk down to despair. The cook couldn't believe that he was seeing Zoro this way. The swordsman thought that everything was his fault, he's trying to do everything on his own just like he always does. Zoro honestly thought that his nakama would be better off treating him like an enemy. "Shut the hell up!" The cook finally demanded loudly stomping his foot on the ground to break the silence. "Damn it marimo you honestly think that you're the enemy!? Get your head out of your ass. You didn't do any of this... Just because something came over you and made you do it, doesn't mean that you're the enemy!" The cook shouted forcing himself to sound angry so the swordsman wouldn't start thinking that he actually cared about him. "You're going to be part of this crew until the very end." Sanji said dimming down his anger.

The deck fell into a heavy silence once again as Zoro refused to remove his hands from his face. He couldn't look at any of his nakama after what he's done. "That's not for you to decide..." Zoro said refusing to be swayed by the cook. "After everything I did..." The swordsman muttered to himself almost trying to prevent the cook from hearing. "Kicking me off of this ship is the best way to keep the crew safe."

Yet another long silence loomed over the two nakama until the cook sighed lowering his voice. "Luffy would never kick you off this ship, no matter what." Sanji declared confidently using his tongue to play with the cigarette in his mouth. "Now shut up and let Chopper treat your injuries." The cook repeated watching the swordsman carefully as Zoro slowly took his hands away from his face. The pirate hunter stared at the palm of his hand for a minute before speaking up in a serious tone.

"Listen to me cook... I want you to promise me something." Zoro muttered continuing to look intensely at his palm. A clear image of his captain appeared in the swordsman's mind as he turned his head to face Sanji. "Promise me... that if I ever lose control like that again..." The swordsman paused closing his fist and shifting his hollow eyes up at Sanji finally meeting with his nakama's gaze. "Promise... that you'll kill me." Zoro said clearly with a toneless voice.

...

The little reindeer stepped through the door quietly shutting it behind him and making his way to the bed where Luffy was lying. "Hello Chopper." Robin said sweetly with a small, kind smile looking up from her book.

"Hi Robin." The doctor muttered in response looking up to see the mysterious yet familiar black book titled 'Shadows' lying on her lap as he jumped onto the stool beside Luffy's bed. Chopper quickly examined the captain seeing that his condition hasn't changed too much within the time that he was gone. Chopper flinched at the thought of Luffy dying but quickly shook it off reminding himself that he needed to change Luffy's intravenous. The doctor jumped down opening the correct drawer and hooking his captain up with the new liquid.

"How is he doctor?" Robin asked with a bit of worry breaking through her calm voice. Chopper looked back at her seeing that she still had the same relaxed smile as before. He had to admit, seeing Robin act so normal put him at ease.

"He's pretty much the same as before..." The doctor answered with a saddened tone of voice. "I can take over from here Robin. Go and get some rest." He told her siting down on the stool.

"Alright doctor Chopper." Robin said with a growing smile trying to make her nakama dance with happiness like he usually does. However, yet again nothing happened. The reindeer just sat in place with the same troubled expression as he wore throughout this entire ordeal. 'Maybe this is all too much for Chopper.' Robin thought as she placed the black book back in the infirmary's bookshelf where she had left it before leaving the room quietly and gently closing the door behind her.

As soon as his nakama left the little reindeer let himself breakdown starting to sob loudly. He desperately whipped the never ending flow of tears from his eyes trying to clear his blurry vision, but it was no use. Whenever he whipped away the tears, more came to take their place as he took short ragged breaths unable to calm himself down.

Robin leaned against the door of the infirmary hearing the loud weeping echoing from inside the room and looked down at the ground. She closed her eyes gently pushing herself away from the wall and walking towards the deck to leave her nakama alone. The raven haired woman knew that at his point no amount of kind words could make him feel better.

...

Sanji widened his eyes staring blankly at his nakama for a minute unable to believe what he heard. "You want me to kill you!?" The cook asked slowly raising his voice.

"I'd rather die than hurt any more of my nakama." Zoro replied turning his head and looking out into the ocean. "If I ended up killing any of you... I wouldn't be able to live with myself." The swordsman muttered painfully still thinking about Luffy.

The blonde gritting his teeth together with such force that he bit his cigarette in half. "Your such an idiot! Killing you wouldn't do us any good! How do you think we'd feel having a member of this crew dead!? If you lose control like that again, then we'll just snap you out of it!" The cook nearly screamed, burning with anger.

"Luffy tried that and look what happened!" The swordsman shouted in frustration jetting up to his feet and looking Sanji straight in the eyes. "He tried to stop me... And I almost killed him! He hesitated to kill me when he had the chance, and I'm not strong enough to stop myself..." Zoro explained, his voice sounded like it was drowning in despair. "So I need you to kill me when that happens again."

"Don't bullshit with me! I know you missed Luffy's heart, the only way you could have done that is if you gained control at the last second, when it really counted! So don't say stupid crap like that becoming suicidal doesn't help!" Sanji yelled pushing up close to Zoro's face.

"I'm not getting suicidal shitty cook!" The swordsman shouted in anger gripping the cook's collar and pushing him back against the rail roughly. "Damn it why can't you all just blame me and get it over with!? Why do you all insist on keeping me on this crew no matter how much of a threat I become to your safet-" Zoro took a ragged breath of air widening his eyes when a harsh pain ripped into his entire arm and neck. No matter how much he tried he couldn't hold back his voice as the swordsman cried out in pain falling onto his back with a loud thud.

"H-hey... marimo...? What wrong?" Sanji asked as his voice shook against his will looking down at his screaming nakama. "Hey get it together!" The cook shouted worryingly. "Shit! I'm gonna get Chopper! Hang on!" The cook yelled trying to raise his voice over the swordsman's. He sprinted off to the infirmary as fast as his feet could carry him.

Zoro continued to yell unable to hear the cook's voice holding his arm tightly when Yusuke's voice echoed in his head. 'Now you'll lose control if you feeling strong emotions, like anger...' He gripped his arm tighter trying to stop himself from shouting but the pain was too intense. Zoro was despite not to let it take control, not now. He racked his brain trying to think of something as quickly as possible so out of sheer desperation he did the first thing that came to mind. The swordsman quickly let go of his hurting arm punching himself with all of his might in the face as the sudden spur of pain seemed to snap Zoro in control. The pain in his arm and neck faded leaving Zoro groaning quietly and gasping for breath.

"Chopper! Chopper!" Sanji yelled bursting through the infirmary door. He saw the small reindeer with tears flowing out of his eyes as the ground below him was soaked. However, the cook didn't have time to address that. "It's Zoro! Something's seriously wrong!"

Chopper's eyes widened as panic flooded through him seeing the fear in Sanji's eyes. The cook never shows that he worries about Zoro so if he's like this then it must be very serious. The doctor shook his head regretting that he wasn't able to hear anything over his own crying and quickly bursted into motion. Without hesitation Chooper grabbed his medical kit and dashed past Sanji sprinting out the door to the back of the ship as fast as he could. "Somebody watch Luffy!" The reindeer shouted as he ran by the deck. Sanji soon emerged out of the infirmary trailing behind the doctor.

"What happened to Zoro-san!?" Brook shouted desperately as he stopped playing the violin causing Sanji to turn his head. He saw the terrified look on his nakama's faces thinking about how loud him and Zoro where shouting. They must have heard the conversation he was having with the swordsman and that means that they heard Zoro's painful screams too.

"I'll explain later! Just do what Chopper said." The blonde shouted in a rush continuing forward. The Straw Hats all looked at each other for a brief moment as Franky nodded heading up to the infirmary quickly.

'It's quiet...' The cook thought turning back to face in front of him. Sanji jolted in realization widening his eyes as far as they would go. Fear enveloped Sanji's entire being as the worst case scenario popped into his mind. 'You better not have died while I was gone moss head!' He thought as they both slid to a stop finding their nakama lying flat on the ground panting heavily with a huge bruise on the swordsman's forehead. Every time Zoro inhaled he'd wince and cough quietly.

"What happened!?" Chopper shouted worryingly, running over to his injured nakama. He pulled the equipment out of his bag as fast as lighting starting to take all of the swordsman's vitals. Rapid heart rate, high blood pressure and heavy breathing.

The doctor quickly took out his bandages starting to wrap almost every inch of Zoro's body as tightly as he could replacing the pirate hunter's old, ripped, bloodied bandages with fresh ones. Throughout his treatment, Zoro didn't look at his nakama even once. He just stared at the clouds passing by, who refused to let the sun shine. He had the same troubled, despair written expression on his face as before. Chopper knew that the pirate hunter's broken bones would never heal if he kept moving around like he insisted on doing and with a broken ribcage any serious damage he takes to the chest could affect his organs.

The doctor sighed deeply seeing that Zoro was at least in stable condition now, but he was still in no shape to be moving around the way he is. "Zoro you should get some rest..." Chopper warned in a worried voice. "I know the infirmary is taken up right now, but you should still head to your bed and get some sleep."

"You haven't eaten in a while either..." Sanji mentioned cringing when he saw the frustrated expression that took over Zoro's face when the blonde was talking about trying to help him. "As long as I'm the cook on this ship no one is gonna go hungry, so deal with it." The cook added in an almost threatening tone.

"Now let's get you lying down so you can sleep." Chopper said transforming into his heavy point preparing to pick up the swordsman.

"That's alright..." Zoro said in a sorrowful tone pushing himself off the ground to sit up. "I'm not tried." The pirate hunter lied trying to force himself to look awake. Now Zoro knew what would happen if he did any of the things Yusuke mentioned, and that the purple haired man wasn't bluffing when he said it. The swordsman couldn't let them know that he can't sleep, his nakama had enough worries and Zoro refused to add any more.

"Shut up and listen to the doctor you stubborn bastard! Last time you refused to listen to him and look what happened!" The cook rose his voice furiously. "Stop trying to be all high and mighty, listen to your damn nakama!" Sanji was about to take a step towards Zoro and kick him but was quickly stopped by the little reindeer's shouting.

"ENOUGH FIGHTING!" The doctor shrieked as loud as he could. "Sanji, your arms still need rest and Zoro's in no condition to be even moving!" Chopper yelled practically pleading for them not to hurt each other anymore. The two Straw Hats got silent as Sanji looked at the doctor apologetically.

Slowly, Zoro grabbed the railing beside him pushing himself up to his feet weakly. The swordsman swayed slightly using the railing to keep himself upright. "Fine... I'll go rest." Zoro said swallowing his pride. He realized that his refusal to rest was worrying everybody anyways and that's what he was trying to avoid. The pirate hunter would just have to make sure that he doesn't fall asleep while he's lying down.

The swordsman took a wobbly step forward when he was swept off of his feet feeling thick, warm fur supporting him. Chopper was now carrying Zoro bridal style against the pirate hunter's will. "O-oi! What... Are you doing Chopper?" The swordsman protested squirming slightly in the doctor's arms.

"Stay put shitty swordsman." Sanji growled in a threatening tone. "He's gonna bring you to your damn bed so be grateful." The cook huffed gritting his teeth together.

"I can walk on my own... You don't need to-" Zoro insisted in a gloomy tone as his hands twitched in frustration.

"I said shut up!" The blonde demanded more harshly this time causing Chopper to flinch slightly at Sanji's sudden outburst. The pirate hunter stopped in his track freezing quickly in place and tensing up his muscles in frustration. Zoro let out his usual 'tsk' sound he makes when he's annoyed gritting his teeth together.

Chopper looks at the two of them sorrowfully walking carefully not to shake Zoro. 'He asked his own nakama to kill him...' Sanji thought to himself unable to get that out of his mind as they walked to the deck. The cook shifted his gaze for something to take his mind off of what he was thinking about but nothing worked. Sanji sighed to himself feeling relieved that at least Chopper didn't hear anything, but the rest of the crew must have. The two of them where yelling at each other pretty loudly after all.

The three of them finally stepped onto the deck as they all locked their eyes on the boy's bedroom across the deck. The Straw Hats that where still there watched Sanji, Zoro and Chopper worryingly dying to bombard the three of them with questions. Chopper and Sanji's eyes wandered to their nakama across the deck, seeing their desperate, worried faces but could only look at them with expressions full of uncertainty as a reply.

Sanji branched off walking towards Robin, Usopp and Brook while Chopper continued on to the men's barracks. Once the doctor was close enough Zoro sprung out of his furry arms wobbling slightly as he landed. The swordsman placed his hand on the door with his head down regretfully. "Thank you Chopper..." He muttered pushing the door opened and quickly escaping out of the doctor's sight. He closed the door tightly behind him, finally being alone.

"Are you sure you don't need any more help?" Chopper asked quietly with obvious concern in his voice.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just going to get into bed, I don't need any more help." The swordsman replied calmly leaning back on the door trying to keep his heavy breathing quiet.

"I'll be back later with something to help the pain ok?" The doctor said turning back into his small form and running away from the door.

Once the swordsman was sure that Chopper was long gone he let go of his tough guy act and literally collapsed onto his hammock barley able to roll over onto his back. He finally let himself breath loudly to catch his breath and looked up at the ceiling as his bed slowly rocked back and forth. Zoro's eyes felt like they were slowly getting heavier as he kept on shaking his head to keep himself awake. 'I don't need sleep... If that's what it takes...' The swordsman slowly folded his left arm over his torso grabbing the arm on the other side and squeezing it tightly. 'Damn...'

...

The little reindeer ran past the four Straw Hats on the deck slowing down to a walk as he headed towards the infirmary door to check on Luffy again, and to make Zoro's medicine. Then suddenly, to the doctor's surprise Franky bursted out of the door slamming it against the wall with a loud crash. Chopper jumped at the sudden outburst waiting for Franky to say something. "Chopper come quick! It's Luffy!"

**((Authors Note: To be continued! Lol sorry for the long wait again! I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Chapter 9 will come out as soon as possible!))**


	9. Trust

# Trust

**((Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and support! I really appreciate it! Sorry for the long wait, (even though I say that every time . lol) this chapter needed a lot of editing, I hope you like it!))**

Franky had a look of pure hopelessness on his face as he made eye contact with the little reindeer. "It's Luffy! There's something wrong!" He blurted out in a worried tone running closer to Chopper. Suddenly, the reindeer put on a professional face speaking in a monotone voice.

"Tell me what his symptoms are." The doctor stated clearly and seriously, waiting for the cyborg to respond. Franky took a deep breath calming himself down enough to explain what happened clearly.

"Well I was watching him and I noticed that Luffy started to shake again, like he was cold. Then there where patches of weird looking skin that started to appear on his body. I thought that I was seeing things but Luffy's breathing heavily now..." Franky explained in a hurry, his eyes looking wild with worry.

"Those symptoms..." Chopper muttered to himself thinking through his medical knowledge. Suddenly all the colour in the doctor's face faded away as his mouth gaped open in shock for a moment. "No way..." The little reindeer said to himself sprinting into the infirmary. "We have to act fast! Robin, Usopp! Come with me, the rest of you stay here on the deck!" The two Straw Hats that Chopper announced sprang into action following their nakama into the infirmary.

"What's wrong with Luffy!?" Usopp asked in a shaking voice stopping and waiting for orders from the doctor as Chopper immediately started to examine the captain.

"It seems like the surgery I gave Luffy earlier caused him to go into septic shock. We need to treat him right away." The reindeer took the rubber man's heart rate feeling that it was going abnormally fast. Chopper nodded to himself in determination planning out what he had to do in his head.

"Wait what surgery?" Usopp whispered to himself having no idea how bad his captain's condition really was. However, after he thought about it the sniper realized how deep Zoro cut Luffy and how injured the captain was. The rubber man was almost stabbed through the heart after all. It must have been a serious procedure. Even so, Usopp never heard anything about a surgery until Chopper mentioned it... surgery had never really crossed his mind in the first place. Maybe he was too use to seeing his captain spring up again like nothing happened right after his fights.

"He administered it right after Luffy and Zoro's fight... while you were still on the deck with Sanji and the others..." Robin explained quietly, watching the doctor carefully as he turned around to his two nakama that were waiting anxiously behind him starting to call out orders.

"Usopp, I need you to find me the insulin. It should be in a small syringe on the bottom left drawer. Robin, get out some antibiotics. They should be in the closet to the left of the bed!" The two of them nodded doing as they were told as efficiently as possible while Chopper ran over to another drawer getting out an assortment of pills and giving them to Luffy, making him swallow.

"Here you go Chopper!" Usopp practically yelled stumbling to a stop and clumsily handing the reindeer a syringe. The reindeer took it from the long nosed man making sure that it was the right one before quickly turning around and stabbing Luffy's stomach with the needle. Once it was securely in the right spot he pressed on the back of the syringe and slowly inserted the liquid inside of the rubber man.

"That should stabilize his blood sugar." Chopper muttered to himself as the archeologist handed him the intravenous liquid that he asked for examining it to make sure it was the right one. Once he deduced she picked the one he specified Chopper replaced Luffy's old intravenous with the new one sighing deeply when he was finally done. "Now we just have to wait and see if he stabilizes. If he does, it could take 3 to 10 days for him to regain all of his strength. But we'll deal with that when the time comes." Chopper explained sadly looking at his captain.

"What are his chances?" Robin asked grimly, unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer to her question. She had remembered reading in a book that the chances weren't very high but she wanted to hear the exact number from an actual doctor.

"More than 50 percent of septic shock cases result in death... And with Luffy's injuries it reduces the chance of recovery. However, like any other shock case the victim should wake up relatively quickly. So we will just have to wait and see if he wakes up." Chopper answered sadly with a shaking voice.

"How long is 'relatively quick'?" Usopp asked worryingly looking over at his nakama, unable to break his gaze away from the once strong and healthy captain.

"Well... This new condition will complicate the situation. Probably I will need to add on another 3 or 4 hours to my previous estimation of when he would wake up again... but since it's Luffy, it'll probably be sooner than that." The reindeer mentioned trying to stay as optimistic as possible. Chopper slowly raised his head starting to walk towards the infirmary doors. "I should go tell the rest what's happening. Usopp, Robin, can you stay here with Luffy?" The doctor asked sorrowfully, looking back at his nakama for an answer. The two of them nodded their heads slowly as Chopper turned back around walking out of the dimly lit infirmary to the darkness of the deck where the rest of the Straw Hats where waiting for him anxiously, in the same spot that the doctor had last seen them.

"So is Luffy-san going to be alright?" Brook questioned as soon as his nakama stepped out of the door. His voice was a bit anxious but the skeleton still used the same polite tone that he usually spoke with. They were all able to hear the commotion from outside of the infirmary but none of them could really tell what was happening.

"Luffy's situation got more complicated, the surgery I gave him for his injuries seemed to cause him to go into septic shock. We should know which direction he is heading once and for all in 3 to 4 hours. It all depends if he wakes up or not..." The reindeer explained, unable to look at any of the Straw Hats who were listening to what he had to say carefully with such saddened looks on their faces.

"I see..." Sanji muttered heavy-heartedly, looking the other way. The cook closed his eyes starting to walk away from his nakama. Sanji really wanted to be alone for a while, to sort out his thoughts.

"Where... are you going Sanji...?" Franky asked sounding a bit more shaken up then Sanji was used to hearing. With that now piled on top of the Zoro ordeal, it was way too much from the small crew to bear. It was already too much when it was only Zoro, but now the thing with Luffy had only made everything worse.

"I'm going to sit down, it's not like standing there is going to help anything." The cook uttered under his breath wishing that it would be as easy as that. He was sure Luffy would pull through, it was Luffy. Of course he would. However, no matter how many times the blonde said that to himself he couldn't stop worrying.

The remaining pirates looked at each other suddenly sinking down and dispersing throughout the deck, waiting breathlessly for the moment that their nakama would finally wake up while to cook made his way to the men's barracks leaning up against the door calmly. "Hey marimo..." He called out to inside of the room slowly. The cook lifted his gaze to the door as if he could see the swordsman through it while he was talking. "How much where you able to hear...?" Despite having no answer when he first spoke, the blonde continued knowing his nakama was still awake.

"Luffy... his situation got more complicated..." The swordsman responded quietly with a shaking voice. It sounded so sorrowful that if it was anyone but Zoro, the person behind the voice would be broken down into tears.

"I figured as much... After hearing what happened I know that if I wouldn't tell you some details you'd get up and try to figure out what's happening on your own..." The cook explained simply as his own voice wavered slightly at the news. "Luffy went into another type of shock... We will see if he lives or dies in 3 to 4 hours... So just relax until then..." Sanji told him looking down at the ground.

Nothing but silence came from inside the room until a barely audible voice made its way to Sanji's ears. "A-alright..." Zoro struggled to say, whispering from inside of the door and covering his face with his hands, making the swordsman's voice muffled. It was hard to understand and his tone sounded even more painful than before... If that was even possible. Sanji stayed in the same spot, looking at the ground and thinking for a while. Suddenly, he snapped himself back to reality and pushed his body off of the wall. He sat down right next to the door, leaning back and looking up at the clouds. Slowly, the cook's eyes grew heavier until they finally shut and his mind drifted off. Before he knew it, Sanji fell into a deep sleep.

...

Zoro couldn't stop thinking or else he would fall asleep which wasn't hard with what happened to Luffy. Right after the treatment seemed to be working there had to be yet another complication stopping his captain from making a full recovery. 'It's Luffy...' He repeated in his head. 'He's gone through worse things than this...' Zoro reminded himself thinking back to the countless close calls that Luffy has had facing different enemies. 'I know he'll wake up but...' The swordsman played the scene of his fight with Luffy in his mind again like a never ending nightmare when he suddenly noticed that he was getting worked up over nothing but a thought. 'This is all my fault... If I continue like this it will only be about time until someone winds up dead...' He paused for a moment looking at the palm of his hand and thinking back to his past. 'I have to leave before it's too late. That's the best way to protect everybody... As soon as Luffy wakes up. I'll leave the ship.' The pirate hunter put down his arm looking up at the ceiling once again. 'I won't let anyone else die because of me.' Zoro flipped over to his side slowly making sure not to hurt himself and continued to cling onto his thoughts, still refusing to let himself fall asleep.

...

About 2 hours later, Sanji's eyes cracked open at the sound of Nami's voice calling him into the kitchen. "Everybody! Dinner is ready!" She cried out across the deck. The cook could tell by the way her voice sounded that somebody had filled her in on what happened to Luffy. The blonde got up calmly glancing at the door to the men's barracks before tiredly walking towards the kitchen.

"Usopp, why don't you go eat? I'm not very hungry anyways." A sweet but calm voice hit Sanji's ears from the infirmary. Despite the situation it sounded as calm and steady as always.

"Oh alright Robin, if you're sure." A less sweet voice took over as the long nosed sniper opened the door, his gaze meeting with Sanji's.

"How's Luffy doing?" The cook asked worryingly hoping that he hadn't slept through anything important. Sanji watched as Usopp's facial expression turned to a slightly happier one, giving his nakama a small smile.

"He's doing a lot better... His breathing and heart rate are back to normal... His skin is looking better too... And Chopper said that his blood sugar is looking stable. But Chopper also said that we will only know for sure after another hour has past and Luffy wakes up." Usopp explained light heartedly, knowing that Sanji slept through the update on Luffy's health. He believed that everything would be alright now, but his other nakama where still doubtful.

"That's good to hear. I guess whatever Chopper did to him really worked." Sanji smiled a bit sadly with doubt in his heart... they had another hour to wait after all, and Luffy hadn't woken up yet.

The sniper opened the kitchen door to reveal that him and Sanji where the last ones to get to the table. The kitchen was silent as everybody looked over to the two remaining nakama that they had been waiting for. As the two of them sat down at the table Nami poured some of the thick soup into shiny, white bowls. She walked over calmly placing the plates in front of the pirates around the table. "Eat up..." She announced with a fake smile on her face.

Sanji slid his right arm out of the sling around his neck carefully examining the soup in front of him along with all of the ingredients inside seeing the big chunks of meat and the countless vegetables inside the broth. He nodded in content at its preparation as they all thanked Nami quietly, digging into their bowls unenthusiastically but nevertheless they ate it fast because of how hungry they all where. The Straw Hats all ate in complete silence as Nami sat down at the table with the pirates. They could all imagine their injured nakama in perfect health, sitting at the table with them. Luffy, trying to steal their food while Zoro yelled at him angrily. Suddenly, Nami looked back down at her plate and noticed that her bowl was empty. She was lost in thought for longer then she expected as the navigator smiled sorrowfully looking at her reflection in the bottom of the bowl. Nami quickly snapped out of it before she stood up gazing over at the Straw Hats around the table. "Does anybody want another bowl?" She asked letting her thoughts fade.

"Ya..." They all announced distantly, pushing their own thoughts to the back of their minds and raising the empty plates. The navigator took them all heading over to the big pot on the stove.

"Alright, but this is the last refill ok? We have to leave some for Zoro, Robin and Luffy." She reminded taking all of their plates back to the stove for refills. After filling them up to the top she placed them in front of her nakama sitting back down at the table with them.

"Luffy-san is going to be fine." Brook said determinedly, sick of the mopey mood around the lunch table. The Straw Hats stopped in their tracks looking heavily at the soup bellow them.

"We know that..." Nami spoke up with a bit of a lighter smile on her face triggering the memories of countless times Luffy could have died, way too many to remember them all. They were all thinking the same thing as Brook was, but they really needed someone to say it out loud. As if setting the thought in stone and making a promise to themselves that their hopes would come true. They all nodded digging into their food with new found determination, acting as if the faster they ate, the better chance Luffy would have of getting better.

The soup was devoured by the Straw Hats even quicker than last time when suddenly a loud voice reached them. "Everyone!" It called out as the pirates took their last sip of the soup. Robin barged into the kitchen, her eyes where full of happiness and excitement as she put on a grin sprawling from ear to ear. "Luffy is awake!" The archeologist announced sweetly. All the eyes around the table turned to Robin as a glimmer of happiness shone through them, obliterating the sadness that was there before.

The doctor smiled full of excitement and happiness whipping past the archeologist and running across the deck, into the infirmary without any hesitation. The reindeer slid to a stop next to his captain's bed widening his eyes when his gaze met with Luffy's. Their captain was wearing a confused expression on his face siting up slowly in the bed.

"What happened?" He muttered under the oxygen mask childishly scratching his head and looking around the room. All of Chopper's sadness and doubts drained out of him in that split second as he heard Luffy's voice, unable to find the right words to say. "I thought I was eating meat... And now I'm here?" Luffy asked mixing up his dream with reality.

"L-Luffy!" The doctor shouted as he practically jumped in excitement while tears of happiness came to his eyes. It took Chopper all the self-control he could muster not to tackle Luffy with a hug as he watched the captain take the oxygen mask off of his face carefully, using his wrists since his hands where too injured to grab anything.

The rest of the Straw Hats flooded into the room soon after to greet their captain. Each one of them stopped at the door matching Chopper's expression as they saw their captain wave happily. "Oh! Hey guys!" Luffy greeted cheerfully as his face wrenched up in pain slightly at the movement of his arm. "Man I'm hungry!" The captain wined feeling a bit too weak for his liking and the pain from his injuries wouldn't stop. Luffy felt the bandages on his body gently trying to remember what happened to him as Chopper watched the rubber man carefully making sure he doesn't open up his injuries again.

"Be careful Luffy..." The doctor warned in a worried tone. However, Luffy completely disregarded what Chopper said, too focused on his empty stomach as it started to growl louder. It seemed like what happened before Luffy passed out hadn't hit him yet. However, maybe it would be better that way for as long as it could last.

"I'm so happy you're ok! Don't worry me like that again!" Nami demanded light heartedly, feeling a lot more relieved than she did before. The rubber man gave her an enthusiastic nod chuckling lightly.

Luffy scanned the room still trying to figure out how he ended up in the infirmary realizing that one of his nakama was missing. The rubber man thought a little bit harder putting his horribly injured hand on his heart when a sudden pain hit his stab wound. When the captain did, he suddenly widened his eyes realizing that his swordsman was nowhere to be found. All of the memories from before he passed out flooded into him as Luffy started to panic. "Zoro...! Where is he!? He's ok right?" The captain rose his voice worryingly whipping his head around the room trying to find him. Luffy remembered that he wasn't able to stop his nakama's demon from taking over like he first planned and that his nakama had completely lost himself.

The Straw Hats where slightly startled by the sudden outburst looking at each other silently for a moment dreading having to tell him. "Zoro's alright for now but... We don't know how much longer he'll stay sane." Sanji answered with the grim truth. Luffy suddenly sunk down to a serious mood putting the straw hat that was tied around his neck onto his head.

"I see..." The captain muttered. "I know I lost the first time, but I'm gonna kick it's ass and save Zoro for sure next time..." Luffy announced with a fiery tone changing the mood in the room.

...

Zoro shifted his gaze to the wooden door not too far away from where he was lying. He heard a loud smash coming from a door on the other side of the deck followed by a faint yell. "Luffy is awake!" A muffled tone made its way to the swordsman's ears through the door next to him.

'Luffy!?' Zoro thought to himself listening harder to what they were saying on the other side of the door. He was only able to pick up bits and pieces at a time struggling to put them together to make a logical explanation.

The swordsman huffed hopelessly swinging his legs beside the bed and jumping down onto the floor with a shaky landing. 'Shit...' He complained to himself holding his head as he waited for the dizzy spell to fade. Once it was gone he stumbled to the door leaning up against the wood and pushing it open. The swordsman staggered out of the room making sure to walk slowly so he doesn't fall.

Now that Zoro knew his captain would be ok, he could leave the ship. What the cook said to him was right... Luffy would never kick him off the crew no matter what happened, so he needed to leave by himself. The swordsman knew that if he kept it up for much longer he would end up killing his nakama. He needed to defeat his demon alone... Or be defeated by his demon alone... Zoro realized that he was a danger to the crew and that he needed to leave before he completely lost himself. He recognized that if he where to stay and if he truly was taken over by it then none of his nakama would kill him. They would try to help him, try to stop him but he knew that they would hesitate if it meant landing a fatal blow... And that would be fatal for them. But they wouldn't know that, even after they saw what happened to Luffy. He also realized that if he simply left without saying anything they would go after him. The swordsman needed to convince the crew not to follow after him and he needed to tell them that it was his decision to leave. In addition to that, the swordsman needed to say something that he wasn't able to in the past. The pirate hunter knew that his nakama would try to convince him that it's not his fault and not to leave the crew. However, he needed to do it... Even if it meant having more weight piled on his shoulders.

Shadows of clouds moved across the deck bringing a strange ominous feeling as Zoro slowly walked towards the infirmary, following the faint voices. Once he was close enough to hear the voices clearly he leaned against the wall to catch his breath before going into the room, quieting down his heavy breathing so they couldn't hear him struggling. While waiting to catch his breath he could hear his nakama's conversation from behind the door inside the infirmary... they were talking about him.

"Zoro's really losing it. If we're gonna kick its ass and save him we better do it quick." The swordsman heard Franky say through the door with slight worry in his voice buried under the anger and determination.

'I knew it... They still think that they can help me somehow, even after what I did to Luffy! I can't let them try to save me again... They'll end up really dying this time...' Zoro thought desperately to himself taking another few deep breaths, feeling the tightness in his lungs finally starting to fade.

"At this rate he's a goner, and if he gets completely taken over then we're as good as dead too. Especially with the condition that Luffy's in." Sanji stated the facts as calmly as he could manage meeting all of his nakama's gaze. They all didn't like hearing it, but they knew it was the truth. If even Luffy couldn't stop it, all of them knew that they couldn't either.

"Well we already have seen that Zoro has no control over his powers." Robin explained knowing that they were all aware of that fact already, trying to get some ideas flowing to come up with a solution.

"We know that he's useless in this kind of situation... The question is what are we supposed to do about it!?" The Usopp questioned in a frightened tone, looking around the room again for answers.

Everyone suddenly heard a quiet creaking noise coming from the door as the pirates turned their attention to Zoro while he unsteadily walked into the room. The swordsman closed his eyes forcing himself to walk as straight as he could. "Did you hear?" Robin asked slowly feeling the air thicken. The swordsman nodded quietly as a sudden guilt struck them when they remembered how harshly they were talking about the pirate hunter when he wasn't around. They had no clue that he was listening and hoped that they didn't worsen his glum condition. "I'm sorry I didn't know you were outside." Robin apologized sincerely.

"Everything you said was true." Zoro said simply in a saddened tone while his eyes stayed fixated on the ground as a small, painful cough escaped him.

"Zoro! What are you doing standing up!? You're still injured!" Chopper snapped when he heard the cough using a slightly panicked voice.

"Luffy... He's really alive..." The pirate hunter muttered to himself painfully seeing his captain, so deep in thought that he didn't hear what Chopper said. He looked at the blood stained bandages coving almost all of Luffy's upper body and the horrible condition that the captain's hands where in shuttering slightly. Luffy looked back at his swordsman a bit anxiously seeing how much Zoro struggled just to see him and how heartbroken the swordsman looked seeing the damage that he caused.

"I'm ok Zoro! Really! You can go back and lie down!" The rubber man announced cheerfully trying to get his nakama to smile.

"No... I can't do that Luffy..." The swordsman said slowly and sorrowfully in a barely audible volume as he lowered his head for shadows to cover his eyes. Zoro felt a foot connect to his back shoving him from behind and throwing the swordsman off balance, into the wall. The pirate hunter quickly gripped onto the wood stopping himself from falling to the ground.

"What do you mean stupid moss head!?" Sanji said in a dead serious tone trying to stop the swordsman from finishing what he was going to say next. "If that little push knocked you over then you're in a pretty pathetic state! So go back and lie down!" The cook continued in a last desperate attempt to stop the pirate hunter from saying something that he might regret. Sanji knew what the swordsman was about to say, Zoro had already been pondering about leaving the crew but the cook never thought that he'd actually try to do it... And the fact that he was really planning to leave hit Sanji hard, making the cook feel desperate. He watched his nakama breath heavily as he pushed himself off the wall roughly.

"That's enough cook... My mind is already made up...!" Zoro threatened in a more painful sounding voice than anything else, desperately trying to keep himself from getting angry. He knew what Sanji was trying to do but Zoro couldn't back out now. It was for the good of the crew after all... He just kept having to tell himself that... The swordsman was already shaken up with what he was about to tell his nakama and the cook was going to push him over the edge soon. It was hopeless at that point to try and stop him anyways. Zoro was too far into the darkness to be pulled out so easily, he needed more than a hard shove to change his mind. He needed Luffy...

Sanji froze for a second hearing the swordsman's voice. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was something about the way Zoro said that. It sounded more like the swordsman was desperately trying to control himself. That wasn't the first time that had happened either. When Sanji was talking to Zoro at the back of the ship the swordsman had the same tone in his voice and the same look on his face... at least... Before he got angry and suddenly started to scream in pain... The blonde retreated slightly at the memory calming himself down as he sighed deeply looking away from the green haired man in front of him. Sanji's gaze dropped to the ground as he gritted his teeth together, bracing himself for what his nakama was about to say next.

Zoro watched Sanji look away before the pirate hunter sorrowfully shifted gaze back to the rest of his crew. "I'm... Going to leave the crew." The swordsman announced, full of despair. Zoro's hands shook slightly when he finally spoke up. Even his voice shook with every word as if it was painful to say. The infirmary room was dead silent until Nami's voice broke through to them.

"Why would you leave!?" Nami yelled in shock sounding almost angry about what he said. "Look don't make such rash decisions. We can still work everything out!" She protested softening up her tone as she tried to change his mind.

"You guys said it yourselves! I'm useless, I can't even control myself! I'll end up killing you all if I stay... I was planning on leaving as soon as Luffy woke up anyways... I have to do this on my own. But I'm not so stupid that I'd just leave... I know you guys would come after me. So I'm here to tell you not to..." Zoro argued seriously in a toneless voice.

"Oi Zoro, don't joke around like that!" The captain interjected refusing to admit to himself that the swordsman was telling the truth about how he feels. "I know I lost to it. It's my fault... I couldn't help you back there, but next time I'll definitely beat it!" Luffy said trying to suppress his shock. The captain put a fake, saddened smile on his face trying his best to get Zoro to stop saying such crazy nonsense. Suddenly the swordsman's facial expression turned from sad to painful gritting his teeth together as hard as he could.

"It's not your fault!" The swordsman snapped in a despairing tone clenching his shaking hands into fists. "This is all my fault! No one else's!" Zoro lowered his head as shadows casted over his eyes again. He dropped down onto his knees bowing his head down and pressing his forehead against the floor below him. "I'm... I'M SORRY!" He cried loudly in anguish, breathing heavily from all of the movement. Zoro lowered his voice to almost a whisper gritting his teeth trying to calm himself down. "I know that a simple apology could never be enough... After what I did, you have every right not to forgive me... But I had to say it... Before I left..." The swordsman said as his voice shook once again.

The Straw Hats stood speechless looking sadly at their bowing nakama as Luffy tilted his head down causing his eyes to be covered by his hat's shadow. Suddenly a small fire started to build up inside the captain as he watched his swordsman continue to apologize.

"I... I tried to kill everybody... I strangled Nami... I broke the cook's arm... And I stabbed you Luffy... I'm a danger to the crew... I know you couldn't possibly trust me, I can't even trust myself. Leaving is the best way to protect the crew... So... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything that I've done... and goodbye..." The swordsman rose his head off of the ground staying down on his hands and knees, keeping his gaze on the floor underneath him.

"No way!" Luffy shouted childishly completely disregarding what Zoro said. "You need the captain's permission to leave the crew and I won't allow you to!" The captain declared. The pirates could hear in his tone of voice that nothing would change their captain's mind at that point.

"How could you say that after all I did!?" Zoro snapped closing his eyes tightly. "I'm going to end up killing all of you... It... It would be better for everyone... if I left..." The swordsman shuttered choking out the sentence as his finger curled, digging into the wood.

Luffy's eyes widened as his nakama said again that they would be better off if he was gone and a furious expression took over the captain's face. He could hear everything that his swordsman was thinking through the tone of his voice... Zoro was planning on leaving the crew and trying to control his demon by himself... The captain sat quietly at the realization letting silence fall throughout the infirmary again until he quickly got up out of his bed walking over to Zoro. Each step was a bit shakier than the last but Luffy ignored his spinning head as he walked forwards.

Chopper was completely frozen at the swordsman's words... Zoro sounded... almost like he wanted to die... It wasn't only the doctor though, none of the Straw Hats could speak either... Sanji shut his eyes tightly as the tube attached to Luffy's arm extended as far as it could when the rubber man stopped just in its reach.

Luffy stood over his bowing nakama silently as he breathed heavily for a few seconds then roughly grabbed the straw hat from his head and gently placing it over Zoro's messy green hair. "Nobody is going to die, I promise... So never say that again..." He said almost as a threat in between gasps, releasing his hat as it sat comfortably on his nakama's head.

Zoro's eyes widened feeling the straw hat being placed on him and slowly lifted his head up looking at the captain in shock. "L-Luffy?" He stuttered putting one of his hands over the straw hat to adjust it.

The rubber man's smile came back to his face as he looked into his nakama's watery eyes. Luffy sucked all the air he could fit in his lungs before releasing it all as he yelled. "YOU'RE ONE OF US ZORO! NO MATTER WHAT!" Luffy declared at the top of his lungs to the swordsman.

"You..." Zoro muttered quietly thinking about how special Luffy's straw hat was to him. He gripped the hat on his head tightly pulling it over his eyes.

"Luffy is right Zoro! Please let us help you!" Nami said gently with a smile.

"Share some of your weight with us, we can handle it!" Usopp encouraged giving his nakama a confident thumbs up.

"I told you..." Sanji smiled to himself. "You're with us marimo, whether you like it or not." The cook teased looking up at the wall ahead of him.

The swordsman nodded slowly holding the straw hat tighter over his eyes as water dropped on the wooden flood underneath him. Zoro was finally out of the darkness... "Thank you... Everybody..." The pirate hunter whispered as he smiled slightly. Zoro knew that whenever Luffy gave his straw hat to someone, he was going to help them no matter what. Even after he tried to kill all of them, even after how scared they were of him, Luffy still trusted Zoro with his treasure... and all of the swordsman's nakama still stood by his side... What his captain said was true, Zoro didn't kill them... Luffy didn't die... Nobody did... And none of his nakama would die any time soon, no matter what...

The swordsman let go of the hat to show a glimmer of happiness shining in his eyes as tears rolled down Zoro's cheeks. He got up from his knees standing on his feet once again. 'Thank you... But... I'm not going to last much longer this way.' He thought to himself with a saddening smile.

"That's so sweet! I love you guys!" Franky yelled breaking the swordsman's doubtful thoughts as tears jetted out of the cyborg's eyes.

"Indeed, this scene is warming my heart! Even though I don't have a heart! Yohoho!" Brook shouted cheerfully.

Nami laughed whipping the water out of her eyes as she turned around to face the door. "Alright! I better go clean the table, you guys left a mess..." She sighed turning to face the door.

"You guys already ate!? I want some! I'm starving!" Luffy cheered spinning around and sniffing the air to smell the food.

"You have to lie down Luffy! You're still recovering. You can't just get up and walk around now!" The doctor shouted but the captain only laughed childishly.

"I'm fine! I just need something to eat!" The captain ensured again throwing his hands up in the air only feeling a dull pain where his wounds where. Luffy swayed on his feet as Chopper quickly changed into his heavy point catching the rubber man before he could fall. Luffy winced slightly at the unexpected feeling and put his arms down gently.

"I told you!" The doctor shouted in a frustrated tone with worry berried underneath his voice at the same time. "What if we bring the food here to you!?" Chopper suggested in a softer tone of voice. The doctor's captain pouted slightly as he thought about the deal, finally nodding in agreement. "Good, so don't move so much!" Chopper nagged helping Luffy to lie down on the bed again.

Zoro swayed back and forth on his feet watching his nakama with exhausted looking eyes. He didn't feel any more energetic since he went to go lie down, in fact the swordsman seemed to feel even more exhausted because he hadn't slept at all. "You too Zoro. You should be lying down, we'll bring the food to you." Chopper said sympathetically to his tired nakama.

"You guys can go on ahead... I'll help this idiot back to the room so he can lie down." Sanji breathed out sounding a bit tired himself. He turned around to see the swordsman's eyes narrow slightly.

"I don't want help from the likes of you, cook..." Zoro scoffed with a teasing sound to his words turning his head away from the blonde and crossing his arms.

"Oi shut up, stop acting like such a kid. Do you really think that I want to do this?" Sanji teased back. The two of them couldn't help but show a slight smile as Zoro chuckled quietly.

The Straw Hats laughed lightly at the two of them finding it incredible that they could still find a way to argue and started heading towards the kitchen. "Alright Sanji-kun, I'll leave it to you!" Nami said with a grin.

"You should rest too after lunch Sanji." Chopper insisted before exiting the infirmary seeing that his arms could still use some well-deserved recovery time.

"Nah, I just took a long nap not too long ago." Sanji grinned to the little reindeer trying to perk himself up a bit. "You're the one who should take a nap this time Chopper. We'll let you know if anything happens so don't worry about it." He suggested kindly.

"Alright, I will." Chopper yawned finally allowing himself to feel tired. "Just make sure that you keep resting your arms Sanji." He reminded knowing that the cook's almost as stubborn as Zoro and Luffy.

"Of course doctor." Sanji smiled, at that point the blonde would do anything to get cooking again, the kitchen was like Sanji's happy place after all. It helped him think, and it was one of the only things other than a cigarette that could calm the cook down. Not only that, but Nami still had to navigate. Cooking would make her job a lot harder and Sanji didn't want that to happen.

"Even if you call me doctor it won't make me happy asshole!" Chopper blushed turning back to his brain point and dancing around happily at the comment. The reindeer shyly danced out the door following the rest of his nakama to the kitchen.

Zoro watched them head out the door until Robin, Luffy and Sanji was the only ones left. Robin stayed by Luffy's bedside when she heard a quiet grumbling noise coming from the green haired swordsman's stomach. Zoro blushed slightly as Robin smiled at her flustered nakama sweetly. "Hold on a little longer, I know you must be hungry. They'll bring your food to the room in a bit." She insured Zoro gently sitting back down on the stool in front of her.

"Ya. Thanks." The swordsman answered quickly whipping his tears away and hiding his blushing face from her. Robin giggled in amusement thinking to herself that the swordsman looked pretty cute when he was embarrassed. On top of that she'd never seen Zoro cry before and had almost thought that he didn't know how until now.

The pirate hunter put his arm down from his eyes noticing the amused look on Robin's face and gazed at her with an annoyed expression but the archeologist simply smiled a bit wider. Zoro turned his back to the woman and looked up at the hat on his head taking a deep breath of air. He hated it when Robin looked at him that way, it only made him more embarrassed.

The archeologist's smile dropped slightly when she realized that Zoro drifted off into thought, feeling a bit worried about him still. The swordsman had remembered someone else that lived to embarrass him, Robin reminded the swordsman of her a lot sometimes causing him to think back to his painful past. No matter what tactics he tried the swordsman could never seem to shake the tight feeling in his chest every time he thought back to his childhood... Along with every time he remembered the name of that island his sensei told him about. 'Shima doko akuma-ō doeru... The island where the demon king dwells...' Koshiro's voice echoed in Zoro's head. He needed to do something to prevent himself from killing his nakama but he still couldn't shake the warning that Zoro's sensei gave him about that place.

"Hey Zoro! We already promised that we wouldn't die. So don't keep any more secrets from your nakama, ok?" Luffy said loudly, cutting off the swordsman's wondering mind as if reading Zoro's deepest thoughts. The pirate hunter looked at Luffy a bit shocked but the feeling quickly passed when Zoro remembered that he was dealing with his captain, someone who knew him so well that it was almost scary sometimes.

"I won't..." He muttered with content as the swordsman's smile widened slightly, nodding to his captain. 'And I'll make sure you keep that promise you made me Luffy... No matter what.' Zoro told himself placing his hand on the sword with a white hilt gently.

Sanji looked as his nakama smiling slightly to himself as Robin opened up a book pretending not to pay attention but smiling to herself anyways. The cook lowered himself down as the swordsman wrapped his arm securely around the blonde's neck. "Good. Then I expect you to tell me everything." Sanji sneered almost sarcastically as the corners of his mouth rose up a bit.

"I'll tell you what you want to know... But first... I want you to answer my question." Zoro said looking at his blonde nakama. Sanji narrowed his eyes questioning what the swordsman would possibly ask him.

"Shoot." The cook said simply waiting for Zoro to catch his breath a bit more before he spoke.

"How much... Do you guys know? About it...?" The swordsman muttered finding the question a bit harder to ask then he thought. Robin glanced away from her book for a second to listen to the cook's response calmly assessing Zoro's behaviour.

"Well how much do you think we know dumb ass? You never told us anything, we're trying to learn off of a freaking book..." The cook blurted out feeling frustrated that Zoro never told them anything. Sanji paused for a moment cooling off and thinking to himself in silence as he ran through everything that they had discussed trying to sum it up quickly. "The only things that we know so far... Are that you are a half demon, and that you have reached the final stage of this thing called the Awakening, or something..." Sanji responded, leaving out a lot of details. He managed to keep the same sharpness in his tone of voice that the cook always used when talking to Zoro. Robin smiled slightly at Sanji's response turning back to her book.

"I see." The swordsman said in a distant tone. He knew nothing about a book explaining stuff about demons, but he'd have to ask more about that later. He was relieved that it kept him from having to explain some things though. Maybe it would be able to answer some questions he had as well.

"Now it's time for you to hold your end of the deal." Sanji reminded the pirate hunter before he started walking out the door.

"What... Do you want to know?" The swordsman asked as he looked down at the ground and tried to keep his breathing quiet, refusing to act tired in front of his rival. The pirate hunter might have accepted his nakama's help, but there was no way he was about to let the cook pity him.

"Let's get you lying down first." Sanji said seeing right through Zoro's act as the blonde's face wore an amused look. Zoro saw the blonde's expression huffing quietly as he leaned on his nakama and stepped forwards out of the infirmary. As soon as they were out of the small room, a sudden bright light hit their eyes. They both squinted waiting for their eyes to adjust noticing that the clouds have finally passed, leaving nothing but a clear blue sky.

Sanji peeked in on Luffy and Robin before closing the door seeing the captain talking happily to his archeologist as she read her book. The cook gave himself a nod and finally closed the door gently behind him with his foot. Sanji walked forwards across the deck, steadily and carefully while staying at the swordsman's slow pace. There was nothing but silence between the two of them as they made their way across the deck. Zoro's mind continued to wander as he was still unable to rest easy. 'Even if I tell them, it will be too late by the time I even make it to that island.' The swordsman thought to himself, feeling his exhaustion start to get worse.

They finally made it across the deck with an awkward silence still looming over the two of them as Sanji slowly pushed open the door to the men's barracks. They stumbled in as Sanji slowly lowered Zoro onto his hammock. The swordsman tiredly rolled onto his back being careful not to crush the straw hat on his head. Zoro breathed heavily keeping his eyes open and fixed on the ceiling.

Sanji waited patiently for Zoro to catch his breath as he closed the door taking out another cigarette and slipping his hand back into the sling around his neck when it was lighten up. When he heard the swordsman's panting quiet down he spoke calmly trying to take his time with each question. "If Robin-chan, Nami-san and everyone are going to help you we need to know everything we can." He started off, knowing that he might be bringing up unwanted memories with his questions.

The swordsman just stayed quiet his gaze still locked onto the ceiling above him. The cook took his nakama's silence as a 'go for it' so he started with the first question everyone needed to know. "First things first we have to know... Where you born a half demon?" Sanji asked slowly making sure that Zoro understood the question. It was silent for a while until the swordsman slowly nodded.

"Ya..." Zoro said simply prying his eyes open wider as he felt them start to get heavier. Sanji sighed deeply letting his gaze drop to the ground.

"Then... When and how long have you known you were a half demon? Did you know all along?" The cook finally asked needing to know how long Zoro has been suffering for and how long the demon has had to take over the swordsman. He needed to get a good idea of how much longer the pirate hunter would last. Maybe knowing could answer some questions that the crew had too but the swordsman only shook his head slightly.

"I haven't known since I was born. But ever since I was a kid I knew..." He answered tonelessly knowing that the cook wouldn't except just a shake of the head to answer his questions.

"How did you find out? And how did you stay in control of yourself for this long?" Sanji questioned in a bit of an angered tone that time. He was hoping that the swordsman would have said something like a couple years ago, but for him to be struggling with it all alone ever since he was a kid pissed the cook off.

"It's... A long story." Zoro said placing Luffy's straw hat over his face so the cook couldn't see his expression but at that point Sanji didn't need to, he could tell what the swordsman was feeling just by the tone of his voice. The cook could tell that he hit a nerve when he made him remember his past but he really needed to know the whole story so he could help and come up with a proper strategy on how to approach the situation. Also, there was another mystery that needed to be solved... Yusuke's goal... They knew almost nothing about him, or what he was after. So maybe something in Zoro's story could give them some clues.

Sanji decided to take a casual turn to it grinning slightly and sitting down on the couch not too far away from where Zoro was lying down. "I'll get comfortable then." The blonde smiled leaning back onto the couch and relaxing. He saw Zoro flinch slightly as the memories hit him, it was obvious that he'd rather not talk about it, but the cook continued to push him refusing to leave until he got the information he needed. Sanji couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for forcing it onto him, he understood that there were some things people rather not talk about. Like starving on a hellish rock... And it was cruel to plunge Zoro back into the darkness after he was just taken out of it but at the same time he couldn't help feeling glad that it was him asking those kinds of questions and not anyone else. The rivalry between them helped the cook be able to torment his nakama more than anyone else could. He knew that no one else could handle how broken up the swordsman looked.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments as Zoro squeezed his eyes shut underneath the straw hat while his hands shook slightly. "Listen cook... If you can, leave as much detail out of it as possible when telling the rest of the crew." He asked already having flashes of his biggest fear being played over and over again in his mind. The cook pondered his nakama's request for a brief moment looking at Zoro thoughtfully.

...

Everyone helped the navigator clean up the kitchen putting the plates in the sink carefully before leaving to scatter around the ship once again. Usopp was the last one to put his plates away so Nami told him to wait a moment as she poured the remainder of the soup into three big bowls, one for Luffy, Robin and Zoro who still hadn't eaten yet. "Hey Usopp, why don't you bring Luffy and Robin's food to them." She said handing the long nosed sniper the bowls.

"Sure..." He said quickly before taking it carefully and running out the door, making sure it didn't spill. The navigator's smile widened as she walked out the door holding a bowl in her hand for Zoro who was back inside the men's barracks. Nami was about to open the door when she heard the swordsman's wavering voice coming from inside the room.

"Listen cook... If you can, leave as much detail out of it as possible when telling the rest of the crew." She heard being as quiet as possible so they wouldn't hear her. Nami figured they must be talking about something important and moved her body closer to the door so she can hear better. 'I shouldn't interrupt them...' Nami thought to herself about to walk away until her curiosity took over. 'I would be better if two people would listen anyways, to gather more information.' She thought making up an excuse for her to stay and listen to find out what Zoro wanted Sanji to hide from the rest of the crew.

...

"I can't promise anything... But I'll only tell them what's necessary for them to know." Sanji breathed out hating to keep information secret from Nami and Robin.

"Then... I guess I'll just get right to the point." Zoro chocked out gritting his teeth together nervously. He had never told anyone about his past before or what happened and the only one who even knew about Kuina was Luffy. Even then, he kept his entire childhood a secret only having told Luffy her name and the promise he made with her. To be honest, it was something that he would never want to remember. As if it was a nightmare that just kept on haunting him over and over again. The swordsman re-opened his eyes one more time looking up at the skinny streams of light peeking through the stitches on the straw hat. Somehow having Luffy's hat over his face calmed him down slightly as he remembered when that faithful day came, his 2001st fight with Kuina...

**((Author's note: I'm just going to apologize if the Japanese was bad! I know pretty much no Japanese but I wanted to add that parts so I kind of did my best with google translate and a little bit of my own knowledge... Anyways! Chapter 10 will be out as soon as possible!))**


	10. Nightmare

# Nightmare

**((Author's Note: Wow! Double digits! Thanks to everyone who's been reading and supporting me all this time!))**

It was something that he would never want to remember... His past was like nightmare that just kept on haunting him over and over again. That faithful day, after his 2001st fight with Kuina... the one day that Zoro regretted living.

...

But the story begins further back than that, before Zoro and Kuina's 2001st fight. "Oi Zoro!" Kuina shouted from inside of the dojo. "Supper is ready! Get in here before it's all gone!" The little green haired swordsman stopped in his tracks panting heavily and letting go of the strings attached to large rocks behind him.

"Ah! Ya I'm coming! Wait a second!" He shouted back running towards the dojo. Zoro and Kuina had been living together with their sensei for quite a while. Ever since he had challenged their dojo for the first time and lost. He never really had any place to go from the very start, ever since Zoro could remember he's been traveling. At that point, the green haired swordsman had just assumed he didn't have any parents.

The door to the kitchen slid open with a thud as Zoro walked in calmly taking his place next to Kuina at the table. A bowl of white rice and sea king meat was laid out in front of him as he grabbed his chop sticks with a grin. 'My favourite!' He thought to himself about to dig in when one of his pieces of meat disappeared off of his plate and into the mouth of the blue haired girl beside him. "Hey Kuina! Get your own damn meat!" He yelled angrily. A smug smirk played across Kuina's lips as she licked the last of the meat's juice off of her chopsticks.

"Now Zoro, how do you expect to beat me if you can't even stop me from taking food off of your plate?" She asked calmly scarfing down some of the white rice in the bowl she was holding.

"Shut up!" He yelled frustrated as he looked over at her plate a see her last piece of sea king meat. Zoro waited for Kuina to let her guard down finally attacking her food with his chopsticks only to be easily intercepted by the girl.

"So weak..." She muttered to herself eating with one chopstick as she blocked Zoro's attempts to steal her food with the other.

"Now now you two, calm down. There's plenty of food to go around." Koshiro interrupted handing his angry student a piece of his meat. Zoro pouted slightly staring at the piece for a few moments before taking it. He almost swallowed the whole thing in one bite to make sure Kuina didn't get any more of his food. It wasn't the best idea he ever had though, soon after Zoro's face was turning blue as he desperately reached for water, panting heavily in relief when the piece finally went down his throat.

"What? Now you can't even eat properly?" Kuina sneered teasing the young swordsman. She saw his face turn red with anger and embarrassment as he stood up stomping out of the room.

"Must you bug him like that all the time Kuina?" Koshiro asked slightly amused at their arguments. It almost seemed like the two of them where brother and sister sometimes.

"It's his fault for being stupid." She said simply finishing her food. Kuina took her plate along with the one Zoro left on the table throwing them both in the sink. She grabbed the bamboo sword which had been leaning against the wall as they ate and headed to the door, back outside to continue her training.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Zoro yelled to himself pulling the giant rocks he used as weights more vigorously then last time. "Damn Kuina! She'll see! I'm going to beat her for sure next time!" He announced dropping the rock when he reached 1000 reps to catch his breath. The swordsman felt like someone was watching him quickly turning around to reveal just empty space. Kuina had gone behind the dojo before she could be spotted and stared at the worn out post she practiced her sword techniques on.

'I won't let him beat me.' She told herself starting to hit the post in front of her vigorously. The two of them trained until the sun set, it became too dark to see much of anything and Kuina finally exhaled catching her breath. The blue haired girl walked away to see if her rival was still training finding Zoro walking in the opposite direction of the dojo holding two bamboo swords. The little swordsman seemed that he had something on his mind so she decided to follow him. It wasn't the first time he had been spotted heading in that direction.

The two of them finally reached an open field with a small hill accompanied by a single tree in the middle of tall grass. Zoro sighed to himself sitting under the shadow of the tree, blocking the moon's light from hitting him. Kuina watched her rival closely for a few minutes before walking out of her hiding spot casually strolling up to her young friend. "You know, if you're lost the dojo is in the other direction." She stated watching as a shocked expression took over the green haired swordsman's face.

"How did you get here?" He asked almost angrily looking away from the blue haired girl as she shone in the moon light.

"I followed you dummy." Kuina said simply sitting down next to Zoro and placing her bamboo sword across her lap. "So what is this place anyways? You know there are trees back at the dojo too." She mentioned sarcastically waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing. I just like it here ok?" Zoro said honestly looking up at the moon. There was a long silence before Kuina exhaled loudly, she could see how nice the moon looked from where they were sitting.

"Dummy." She muttered following his gaze up at the moon. Zoro flinched slightly at the name calling gritting his teeth together.

"Would you stop calling me that?" The little swordsman said annoyed. "You won't be saying stuff like that to me when I become the world's greatest swordsman." He muttered proudly to himself.

"In that case I'll be calling you dummy 'till the day you die, dummy." She smiled enjoying the look of anger on Zoro's face whenever she annoyed him. Except this time there was nothing like that, the green haired swordsman just stood up quietly grabbing the two bamboo swords that where leaning against the tree.

"That's it..." Zoro muttered in a fired up tone of voice. "Fight me right now! I'll show you how much stronger I've gotten since last time we fought! I won't lose this time!" He announced pointing one of his swords in her direction.

"How pitiful, letting your emotions get the better of you like that. Anger will only cloud your judgment..." Kuina said calmly raising to her feet and grabbing the sword with her other hand. Once she was in her fighting stance Zoro charged at her with as much strength and speed he could muster swinging his swords at her as quickly as he could. The blue haired swordsman simply dodged and blocked all of his strikes not wasting any energy as she stepped forward to stab Zoro's stomach.

'Shit! Even after all that training, I'm gonna lose!?' The green haired swordsman angered and desperate thoughts where cut off by a sudden bloodlust along with a burst of power as his eyes flashed red giving him inhuman speed. 'I won't be defeated!' He quickly stepped to the side away from the strike as his eyes faded back to normal. Kuina narrowed her eyes in realization of what happened as Zoro quickly swung his sword at Kuina's side, however his movements where back to their original speed making it easy for the blue haired swordsman to block his strike and quickly counter it stepping in and striking his head. Zoro fell back onto the grass from the impact dropping his swords as he fell.

"Win number 1999." She announced lowering her sword. "The world's greatest swordsman? Don't make me laugh... You're just a little kid sprouting nonsense." Kuina exhaled loosening her grip on the bamboo hilt as her rival's eyes widened.

"Shut up!" Zoro yelled punching the ground beneath him. Kuina had struck a nerve with her comment making the green haired swordsman even more worked up then he usually was. 'I will become the world's greatest swordsman! I'll show her! She'll regret saying that! I refuse to lose! Not again! I can't lose!' He repeated in his head over and over again feeling anger and desperation boil inside of him. "She's in your way!" A loud voice boomed through Zoro's head. He grunted squeezing his hands over his ears tightly trying to stop the pounding in his head.

"Zoro...? You ok?" Kuina questioned slowly seeing her rival's face clench up in pain so suddenly. The green haired swordsman let out another cry of pain when the booming voice ringed in his ears again.

"Kill her." The dark voice said simply as Zoro felt like his head was going to explode. His eyes flashed red causing the blue haired girl to take a step back, frightened at what was happening to her nakama.

"This again?" She muttered to herself raising her sword. Just like a couple of moments before, Kuina has seen Zoro's eyes flash red making him get a burst of immense power during some of their fights. However, it fades away soon after allowing her to get the upper hand once again. But that time it was different, the dark presence seemed stronger. A lot stronger.

"Kill her!" It repeated louder causing Zoro to shout in pain. However, the shouting came to a stop as the green haired swordsman's pained, desperate expression was taken over by a dark, cold one. Zoro raised his head slowly revealing to Kuina his cold eyes and the dark smirk across his face. The blue haired swordsman froze in fear as she widened her eyes, feeling Zoro's intense bloodlust. "Kill her." He repeated lunging forwards at a superhuman speed grabbing Kuina's neck. He pushed her back into the tree trunk with a strong slam and pinned her against the sturdy wood.

"Zoro?" The blue haired girl choked out quietly as fear took over her face. He was way too strong for his age, for anyone's age in fact making it impossible to pry his hands off of her neck. "Zo...ro!" Kuina tried again more desperately this time as her vision began to get blurry. Her voice finally reached him as Zoro widened his eyes quickly letting go of Kuina's neck and watched her drop down to the ground coughing uncontrollably.

"K-Kuina!?" Zoro looked at her surprised, unsure of what came over him. He just tried to kill his rival, one of his closest friends. "This... This sudden-... It was unbearable..." Zoro muttered to himself breathing heavily and looking at his shaking hands in disbelief. He's had cravings like that before, but nothing as strong as what he just experienced. It was the first time he actually gave into it, but he couldn't help himself. The little swordsman backed away from her slowly falling down to the ground and shaking his head in disbelief. "I-I'm sorry..." He whispered quietly.

Once the blue haired girl caught her breath she got up calmly patting the dirt out of her cloths. "It's fine... You just caught me off guard, that's all." She lied trying to keep her voice from shaking. Kuina raised her head seeing the terrified look on Zoro's face, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to fear yourself. The blue haired swordsman took a deep breath trying to calm her friend down. "Relax. Don't worry about it." Kuina insured walking towards Zoro. With the way he's reacted to what happened, she wouldn't be able tell him that it wasn't the first time his eyes flashed red... Let alone telling him that it happened during the fight they just had before. There was no way she could keep it to herself anymore now since it lasted much longer than it usually did and that Zoro actually tried to kill her.

"I just tried to kill you Kuina!" Zoro yelled as his entire body shook. "Why are you so calm!?" The little swordsman continued to shout. Kuina was just as terrified as he was, except that she was able to hide it, for his sake.

"I said not to worry about it!" She snapped causing her rival to flinch slightly. "How shameful of me." Kuina said forcing a fake chuckle. "I guess that makes it 1999 to 1."

"No way!" Zoro snapped back clenching his fists. "That wasn't even a real match! You can't count it..." He finished, lowering his voice to a mutter. Kuina chuckled walking over the little swordsman and lying down next to where Zoro was sitting. She smiled silently giving him a moment to calm down as she looked up at the stars.

"Alright then Zoro." She said calmly with content watching as Zoro lay back next to her. Kuina moved her head looking at the shaken up little swordsman beside her with a smile. "You have gotten stronger, Zoro." She smiled at him as they looked into each other's eyes in silence. Zoro's face turned bright red as he turned his face away from her in embarrassment. "But you're still pitifully weak." She finished watching as Zoro's embarrassment turned to anger.

"Hey!" He said frustrated watching as Kuina quietly giggled at his reaction. Zoro flipped over to his side, having his back to Kuina as he buried his face in the long grass underneath him. The blue haired woman did the same keeping an amused expression on her face. The two of them got lost in thought and before they knew it, they were asleep.

….

"Hey Zoro! Breakfast is ready!" A familiar voice reached his ears as Zoro slowly opened his eyes to see a ceiling above him. The little swordsman sat up a bit confused remembering that he fell asleep outside but followed the call for breakfast anyways. When he opened the door his eyes met with Kuina's as a sudden guilt took over him. Zoro looked away quickly taking his place next to her and looked down at the pancakes, but his appetite just wasn't there.

"Is everything alright Zoro?" Koshiro asked seeing that the green haired swordsman wasn't touching his food. "I found you two sleeping outside, did something happen?" Zoro sunk down more in his seat staying silent when his rival spoke up for him.

"Nothing happened. We were just star gazing and dozed off." Kuina said completely leaving out all of the details. Zoro turned his head looking at her with a surprised expression when Kuina quickly hit him over the head with a karate chop. "What are you looking at dummy?" She said continuing the eat her food. Zoro held the top of his head lightly turning back around and slowly taking a bite of his pancake. She was acting as if nothing happened, Kuina was still giving him a hard time as always. She wasn't afraid of him at all. That gave some peace to the little swordsman as he smiled slightly taking the last bite of his pancake.

'Maybe it was just a bad dream.' He thought to himself getting up from the table grabbing his bamboo swords and walking out to start his morning training. When the door to the kitchen shut with a light thump Kuina turned to her father slowly putting down her plate. A sudden serious mood took over the table as Kuina turned to her father slowly.

"What really happened Kuina?" He asked kindly feeling worried about his student. "Zoro was acting rather strange." Koshiro explained knowing from Zoro's reaction that what Kuina told him earlier wasn't the truth.

"Zoro tried to kill me last night." Kuina said bluntly. She thought that she could just keep it to herself, his eyes turning red with the sudden burst of strength but now things where getting out of hand. Knowing her dad, he would know something about it.

"What do you mean Kuina?" Koshiro questioned looking at his daughter in shock thinking that he heard her wrong. "Zoro tried to kill you?" Kuina nodded slowly. "Why would he do something like that?" Koshiro asked still in disbelief refusing to jump to any conclusions.

"There's something going on with him. I thought you might know what it was." She answered tonelessly. Koshiro looked at her intently nodding for her to continue speaking. "I've noticed before that when we've fought his eyes would sometimes flash red. It would never be for very long but when it did, it's like he got a burst of inhuman strength and speed. I thought I was seeing things at first but it's happened quite often. I didn't think it was anything to worry about so I haven't told anyone... but things got out of hand last night." Kuina slowly raised her hand up to her neck feeling the bruise marks that Zoro had left. "His eyes turned red for a longer amount of time... And he strangled me. Zoro snapped out of it in time though. But if he hadn't..." The blue haired girl shivered slightly closing her eyes.

"What?" Koshiro exclaimed more panicked then before looking at Kuina with a glimmer of desperation in his eyes peeking out through the calm-looking exterior. "Impossible... Are you sure that you described it right?" He questioned seriously but kindly. The blue haired swordsman looked up at him shocked about how serious her father was making the situation sound but slowly calmed herself down, nodding slightly.

"I'm sure..." She responded. Koshiro could hear the obvious worry in her voice as he made sure not to sound too anxious for Kuina's sake.

"Are there any other symptoms? Aura? Fangs?" Koshiro asked her slowly trying not to bombard his daughter with questions.

"I didn't see anything like that... Why? What's going on?" Kuina looked into her father's eyes trying to get answers with growing worry. She's never seen her dad act that way before, the blue haired swordsman could see through Koshiro's calm act and that almost never happened.

"That's good news, it's only in the early stages. But he's young so it will be easy for it to take over. For it to be so strong at such a young age..." Koshiro looked at the ground muttering to himself with a troubled expression on his face.

"What's going on dad!?" Kuina demanded that time refusing to let Korshiro avoid the question. A looming silence passed between both of them as Korshiro slowly raised his gaze to meet with Kuina's. The blue haired swordsman's heart dropped slightly finally seeing the anguish in her father's eyes.

"Zoro... He could end up killing us all, he wouldn't be able to stop himself either." Kuina's heart dropped further into her stomach as she widened her eyes.

"W-what do you mean dad?" She asked quietly watching Koshiro's eyes flicker in the light.

"Zoro is a half demon." Koshiro said in a serious tone. There was a long silence as all the light in Kuina's eyes faded in shock.

"A demon!? No way! Dad you told me that demons where evil creatures that needed to be destroyed! And now you're telling me that Zoro is one of them!?" She shouted in denial standing up from her seat as she gazed into her father's eyes.

"Kuina, you will learn as you get older that not everything is as simple as good or evil..." He stated slowly trying to calm his daughter down before he started to focus and plan out what to do next in his mind as a few thought escaped him. "This is quite an unlucky situation... One in 100 years... And it had to be Zoro." Kuina's father muttered slowly and opened his eyes.

"In 100 years...? You mean that he's immortal?" Kuina asked unable to believe what she just heard. For Zoro to not only be a half demon but to also be immortal, it was too much for her to take in all at once. Her mind raced until Koshiro finally spoke up clearing up some of her jumbled thoughts.

"No... Only full demons don't age." He explained shortly seeing some stress relieve from his daughters face. Koshiro could tell how worried she was for her nakama but he needed answers before he could truthfully tell her that everything was going to be aright. However, the odds of him being able to say that where very slim. "Listen to me Kuina, you have to tell me exactly how long it's been since this all began... When did you first notice Zoro's eyes turn red?"

"Ah... It's been maybe a couple of months since I first saw his eyes flash red... But it could have been longer." She answered worryingly not use to her dad being so serious.

"It's been a couple of months at best." He repeated sighing as he put the kind smile that he always wore in front of people back on his face. "Alright. I'll speak with Zoro as soon as possible." Koshiro walked by Kuina lightly placing his hand on her head. "Don't worry so much about him. I'll handle things from here." He walked out of the kitchen slowly heading towards the training grounds.

"I'm not worried about him..." Kuina muttered pouting slightly and looking away as her father left the room. She took the plates left on the table and placed them in the sink like she always did. When they were all put away she walked outside slowly and watched her father walk in Zoro's direction. Kuina gazed at him nervously for a moment abruptly turning around and walking away to continue with her training, trusting that her father could handle it.

After wandering to all of Zoro's favourite training spots Koshiro found his student lifting a giant rock over a river behind the dojo with only his mouth. The look of pure determination on Zoro's face while he trained made his sensei stop and watch him for a while, intrigued by his overwhelming willpower.

A few minutes passed until the green haired swordsman finally decided to put down the rock and take a breath of air. When his concentration faded he noticed that Koshiro was standing quietly at the edge of the river. When their eyes met Koshiro gave Zoro a slight smile speaking as calmly and kindly as he could manage. "How is the training coming Zoro?" He asked starting with light conversation. The little swordsman looked at his sensei a bit strangely knowing that Koshiro wouldn't go find him just for small talk but he played along and answered his question anyways.

"Fine..." He said simply with a bit of hesitation in his voice. There was a certain look on his sensei's face that made Zoro suspect that he was hiding something from him, or that he wanted to tell him something that wasn't easy to say.

"That's good to hear, may I take a minute of your time?" Koshiro asked getting to the point as he motioned Zoro towards the dojo. The little swordsman hesitated once again nodding slowly as he followed his sensei into the dojo.

Koshiro sat with his back to the green haired swordsman, facing the wall of the dojo while his student sat near the doors. "Kuina told me what happened last night." Koshiro stated right away, Zoro could see where Kuina got her blunt attitude from.

"So it wasn't a dream...?" Zoro responded looking at the ground sadly. The little swordsman knew all along that what happened wasn't just a nightmare but he kept hoping it was anyways. Zoro exhaled in acceptance gripping his legs tightly out of frustration. "Does that mean you called me here... to kick me out of the dojo?" He asked with a toneless voice trying to hide his nerves, he had nowhere else to go after all and if Koshiro said yes it would be back to living on the streets for him.

"Now why would you think I was kicking you out Zoro?" The sensei asked kindly turning around to finally face his student with a light smile on his face.

"Because I tried to kill your daughter..." The green haired swordsman muttered finding it hard to say as he looked away from Kuina's father. Koshiro's smile widened slightly further as he closed his eyes gently.

"I know that... However, you are not at fault for that." Zoro's sensei explained to him in a soothing tone bringing even more chaos to the swordsman's mind.

"But I am!" The little swordsman snapped. "This... Overwhelming thirst for blood out of nowhere. I couldn't resist it that time and..." Zoro muttered to himself starting to ramble slightly until he stopped himself looking into his sensei's eyes desperately. "Just what kind of monster am I...?" He asked slowly looking at his hands as they curled into tighter fists on his lap.

Koshiro sighed seeing how troubled Zoro was about the situation and did his best not to scare him. "You Zoro, are a half demon." The sensei explained slowly to his student watching the swordsman's eyes widen in shock, that wasn't the answer he expected.

"Don't make stuff up... Demons aren't real... They're just fictional creatures made to scare people." Zoro protested in an annoyed tone, thinking that his sensei was just messing with him. He was never one to believe in crazy none sense like Gods, angles, demons, spirits or anything like that, Zoro was a very skeptical thinker after all.

"Oh but they are... Trust me, I have dealt with plenty of them in my time." Koshiro's smile widened slightly knowing how stubborn his student could be at times.

"That's impossible! I won't believe it until I see it for myself!" Zoro exclaimed and looked away from Koshiro feeling frustrated at himself.

"Zoro..." The little swordsman's sensei muttered quietly getting his student to look at him again. "I know it is a hard fact to accept. However,-" The sensei was about to continue until he was abruptly cut off by his student.

"It's not hard to accept because it's not real! If demons existed then I would have heard about them or seen one of them by now!" Zoro shouted almost desperately trying to find every reason to prove his sensei was wrong, even though he knew that Koshiro had no reason to lie to him.

"The reason why you have never heard of them is because the world government covered up their existence to regular civilians. You've never seen any demons because they look exactly like regular humans... For normal civilians, they are only a rumour." Koshiro explained as best as he could. The green haired swordsman narrowed his eyes trying to understand.

"If it's been covered up from regular civilians then how do you know about it!?" Zoro jumped on the opportunity to find a hole in his story, so that he didn't have to believe what his sensei was saying is true.

"I know about it..." Koshiro hesitated for a moment, hoping he wouldn't have to tell his student at such a young age. However, it seemed unavoidable. There was no other answer Zoro would accept other than the truth. "Because I am a revolutionary, they are an army that opposes the world government. We have access to information such as that and deal with matters like this all the time. However, I cannot tell you more than that." He stated calmly meeting his student's gaze. Zoro widened his eyes trying to take in all of the new facts he just discovered. His sensei was a revolutionary... Someone who opposed the world government... Demons where real... It was just too much for him to handle. He places his hands over his eyes peering through his fingers.

"I'm not going to use some fake excuse to cover up what I did! It's my fault that I couldn't control myself, I just wasn't strong enough!" Zoro yelled in denial.

"I find your sense of purpose impressive." The sensei smiled knowing that everything must be hard for him to accept so suddenly, and at such a young age. "So let me help you." Koshiro said calmly watching the little swordsman's expression start to look a bit confused.

"How could you possibly help me...?" Zoro asked hesitantly putting his hands down from his face slowly.

'At all costs I would like to avoid an exorcism...' Koshiro thought to himself making sure not to tell his student about that option. It was the sensei's last resort to use that because of how dangerous it was, especially for someone Zoro's age and knowing his student, the little swordsman would jump on that option if he knew about it. "Listen closely Zoro, avoid seeing blood at all costs. Also, control your anger to a certain extent... Intense wrath and desperation will trigger the bloodlust. If you do those two things then you should be able to keep yourself under control. At least for a little while longer, until I can find a better method." He explained in a relaxed yet serious tone.

Zoro pondered that his sensei told him for a moment hesitantly nodding his head. He still didn't believe that he was a demon, but Zoro listened to his sensei anyways wanting to do anything he could so he wouldn't hurt any of his nakama again. "Is that everything...?" The swordsman asked quietly standing up and grabbing his bamboo sword.

"Just one more..." Koshiro replied sweetly to his student smiling kindly. "Don't tell anyone about what we discussed today." The sensei gently put his finger over his lips grinning, he couldn't have anyone else knowing he was a revolutionary after all. Zoro nodded then lowered his head sliding open the door and walking out of the dojo to continue his training. Once the green haired swordsman left Koshiro's smile dropped looking up at the ceiling of the dojo. "My my... What am I going to do to convince him?... What a stubborn student." The corners of his mouth rose slightly again as he stood up and left the dojo.

The little swordsman walked back to the river staring at the rock he was lifting before his sensei called him. Zoro finally looked at the ground accepting to himself that he wasn't able to focus on training and sat on the shore right next to the water. Zoro gazed at his reflection in the sparkling river sadly. 'If he won't kick me out... Maybe I should leave the dojo before anyone else gets hurt.' He thought to himself before quickly shaking his head. 'I don't believe it... I can accept the fact that I'm crazy but a half demon!? Damn it... If I left where would I go anyways? I'll just do what sensei told me... I'm strong enough to control myself.' He thought, trying to convince himself. However, no matter how many times he said that to himself the little swordsman still had doubt in his heart. 'I can control it...' Zoro thought again lying to himself, deciding to bear with the doubt. The truth was too hard for the swordsman to handle. When he snapped out of his trance he focused on his reflection again seeing the legs of a girl standing behind him in the water.

"You know... You look quite pitiful with that doubtful look on your face." She said confidently sitting next to him. Zoro glances at her taking a deep breath of air.

"What do you want Kuina?" He asked looking at her through the reflection in the water.

"This isn't your river dummy. Anyone can come here if they want." She stated kicking off her shoes and placing her feet in the cold, refreshing water.

"Whatever..." Zoro muttered in an annoyed tone bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them tightly. There was a bit of an awkward silence for a minute until Kuina finally revealed why she was there.

"I know everything Zoro... How you're a half demon." She said quietly watching small fish swim in the water near her.

"Shut up about that... It isn't funny. I know that demons don't exist." He snapped tightening the grip on his legs. "How could you of all people believe something like that?"

"Zoro..." She started to say calmly seeing the look in her rival's eyes. The green haired swordsman knew that it was the truth, he just hadn't accepted that fact yet. "Stop being so stupid... Acting like a little kid won't make this issue go away..." Kuina said trying to talk some sense into him.

"I said shut up! I'm not acting like a kid!" Zoro raised his voice widening his eyes and sinking back down when he realized that he was getting angry.

"Zoro. Not accepting it will only make things worse." She explained. "Are you going to let that thing take over you and kill everyone you care about just because you're weak and refuse to acknowledge its existence!?" Kuina asked raising her voice slightly.

"I'M NOT WEAK! If this demon really does exist then I'm strong enough to stop it on my own! If you don't trust that I can do it... Then I'll challenge you to a rematch to prove to you that I don't need anybody's help!" He announced jetting up onto his feet. Kuina smiled slightly standing up calmly from the ground and picking up her shoes.

"You're on..." Kuina smiled wider. "If you win then I'll believe that you're strong and I'll stop trying to convince you that demons exist. In addition to that, I won't get in your way from now on... However, if I win then you have to admit that demons do exist and that you can't control it on your own." The blue haired swordsman announced watching her rival nod at the bet.

"Then let's make this match official and have someone ref it!" Zoro stated clenching his fists and starting to walk back to the dojo.

"Sounds good to me." Kuina replied calmly following the small swordsman. They both spotted Koshiro instructing the other children in the front yard as Zoro walked up to him quickly, pulling lightly on his grey kimono to get his attention.

"Sensei... Me and Kuina want to have a refed duel. Can you make that happen?" He asked determinedly looking up at his sensei. Zoro and Kuina didn't ask for refed duels often unless the two of them bet on something... The only question was what they put on stake this time...

"Of course Zoro..." Koshiro said quietly raising his head to the other students. "I am going to monitor a fight between Zoro and Kuina if anybody would like to come and watch you are welcome." He announced turning around and heading towards the dojo as the two rivals followed him. The students all looked at each other excitedly making their way inside the dojo to watch the fight.

Koshiro walked up to the referee in the dojo explaining to him the situation quietly as Zoro and Kuina grabbed their bamboo swords and prepared to fight. 'I can't lose this time... I really can't...' Zoro thought to himself remembering the bet he made. It was more of a bet with himself then it was with her. The referee stood between them facing the wall with a small shrine on it.

"Bow before the gods..." He stated as the three of them bowed towards the shrine. He then turned around as the rivals faced one another. "And now... To each other." He announced as they bowed. Once they were finished the ref smiled announcing proudly. "Begin!" He took a step back waiting for the two of them to begin their duel.

There was a slight pause as the two of them examined each other. Zoro took a small breath before taking the first move and charging towards the blue haired girl swinging at her with all his might. However, his strike was easily blocked by Kuina as she stepped forward for a counter attack. The green haired swordsman quickly moved his other bamboo sword to block hers as the force of Kuina's strike almost caused him to lose grip on his weapon as he slid back. Zoro regained his grip making sure to stay calm as he yelled while running towards her for a strike but Kuina found the small opening and struck his head sending the green haired swordsman tumbling backwards as he lost his grip on the two bamboo swords in his hands. "Match over!" The referee announced raising his hand. "And the winner, Kuina with 2000 total wins and 0 loses!" The blue haired swordsman exhaled lowering her sword.

Zoro turned over on his hands and knees gripping his face tightly. "Damn it..." Zoro muttered in frustration realizing the true despair that he stood no chance against Kuina unless his demon side took over, and even when he was consumed by it, he lost to her.

"You're weak Zoro, nothing ever changes. You know for a boy... You're pathetic!" The green haired swordsman turned his head to see the smug look on his rival's face as she pointed her sword at him in victory.

"But... Zoro isn't weak at all." One of the students whispered to the others watching on the side lines.

"He's one of the strongest out of all the guys." The other student whispered back in agreement.

"He's even beaten grownups!" Another student added quietly but where interrupted abruptly as they all flinched at the sound of Kuina's voice reached them.

"But... He's nowhere as strong as me. Even with two swords a weakling is still a weakling. You losers would do good to remember that and keep quiet. Your howling makes you look even more pitiful then you already are." Kuina sneered as she walked out of the dojo closing the sliding door behind her with a thud. The students looked at the closed door, angry at the blue haired girl's attitude. When Zoro saw that she had finally left he composed himself and got up from the ground slowly, dusting off his cloths.

"You've grown so strong Zoro and yet, you continue to lose every match against Kuina." Koshiro said calmly walking over to his student with a kind smile on his face. Zoro's face twisted up in anger as he remembers the bet he made with his rival before the fight.

"SENSEI!" One of the students yelled as they all got up running towards Koshiro. His smile dropped in surprise as he saw them all moving towards him. "Are you giving her special training!? She might be your daughter but that's not fair!"

"You shouldn't cheat!" Another one yelled as the sensei was bombarded with angered yells. He smiled nervously, waving his hands at them to calm his students down.

"Calm down, I've done nothing of the sort. You see, Zoro had grown stronger... but, Kuina has continued to grow stronger as well." He explained as they all quieted down hearing Zoro's heavy footsteps walking out the dojo.

"Zoro...?" They questioned a bit worryingly seeing his hands clenched into fists.

"I'm gonna go clean up!" He snapped a bit harshly continuing out the door without looking back. Zoro went to a well right next to the dojo washing his face, still trying to remain calm. He splashed the cold water on him as the red mark that Kuina's sword had left on his face finally disappeared. He looked at his reflection in the water before clenching his teeth and grabbing the edge of the well. "Damn it!" He growled unable to hold back his frustration. "Why can't I beat Kuina!? Why? Why!? WHY!? I'm going to be the strongest swordsman in the world! SO WHY CAN'T I BEAT HER!?" Kuina watched her rival from behind the dojo walls quietly as Zoro saw the reflection of his eyes flash red flinching in fear and retreating back to calm himself down.

As he gained control of himself again the bloodlust faded along with his red eyes. He whipped the water from his face and exhaled staring determinedly ahead of him. He knew demons where real and that he wasn't strong enough to control his demon side... It wasn't just because of the bet, it was everything that had happened and it only seemed to be getting worse. He's been losing himself more easily now and the bloodlust is becoming stronger each time. Zoro knew that the next time he lost to Kuina he'd be angry just like he was now, and that he might lose himself because of that anger. "That's it... Tonight I fight her again!" He announced to himself with a plan, turning around and walking away from the well angrily.

When she noticed that the green haired swordsman was about to go Kuina walked calmly out of her hiding spot, acting as if she had just arrived and saw nothing that happened. She forced the smug look back on her face as she spotted Zoro. She seemed slightly more conceived then usual if that was even possible, maybe it was because of the bet they made. Kuina loved proving Zoro wrong and making him look weak, having him say that he isn't strong must be even better for her. That and the fact that she beat him easily in yet another fight even though he was so sure that he would win that time. "I'm here to make sure you keep your end of the deal." She smiled taking another step closer to the green haired swordsman.

"Ya ya!" He snapped in an annoyed tone looking away from her. "Demons exist and I'm not strong enough to control it on my own... I already know that alright!?" Zoro almost shouted crossing his arms and turning his back to Kuina. Somewhere deep inside of him he knew it from the beginning, he knew that his sensei was telling the truth as soon as Koshiro said that he was a half demon. Zoro just didn't want to admit it... He hadn't realized until then that making the bet with Kuina and the argument he had with her caused the little swordsman to admit to himself that demons where real. Now Kuina had even gotten him to admit the fact that he was nowhere near strong enough to stop it from taking over too.

"Good... Since you're so weak it looks like you'll have to rely on me and sensei more." The blue haired swordsman's smile lightened to a bit of a kinder one against her will. "So you're gonna let us help you, got it?" Kuina said less smugly then she was hoping for it to sound. Zoro looked at her with a bit of a shocked expression not expecting that from his rival. He smiled slightly as his eyes shone with happiness that she was still by his side but he could let her help him, he couldn't let his nakama get hurt because of him.

"A bet is a bet after all." Zoro smiled a bit wider chuckling quietly to himself. He knew that even if she would never admit it, Kuina was just looking out for him. Suddenly, the green haired swordsman didn't feel so alone anymore. His worries and doubt seemed to fade away when he knew he had someone to rely on, someone to lean on when he needed to and, weather he was going to or not. Now the little swordsman had more confidence in what he was going to do.

"Then enough of that sulking, it makes you look even more pathetic then you usually do." Kuina sneered with a serious face turning her back to Zoro as she began to walk away.

"Oi!" He shouted wanting to say something as a comeback but couldn't think of anything. While Zoro was trying to find his words the blue haired swordsman had already disappeared back to her training.

"I'm definitely fighting her again tonight..." He repeated to himself determinedly clenching his fists and quickly making his way to practice his sword techniques. The two rivals spent the entire day training without any breaks with the exception of lunch and supper until it finally became dark as the bright full moon rose over the dojo, looking as if it was within arm's reach.

The little swordsman snuck past the dojo where Koshiro was talking with somebody quietly, Zoro was too far away to hear what they were saying or even to make out who he was with so he simply ignored the conversation and continued on to the storage room. His fight with Kuina that night would be different, he decided that they were going to use real swords.

...

"It's only been a year since Zoro became a pupil and the boy's progress is nothing short of spectacular. He trains so much more than the other pupils it's incomparable, that's must be what attributes to his progress. But it seems that the boy is still no match for Kuina." The referee said quietly and calmly as the dim light of the small candle flickered. Koshiro continued to smile peacefully as he took a small breath.

"Female swordsmen are faced with immense walls. As she is now, I cannot trust the inheritance of this dojo to her." The sensei stated slowly. Suddenly, the doors of the dojo slid open with a crash as Kuina stood there with an angered expression on her face.

"Father!" She shouted clenching her fists tightly as the ref turned his head to look at her. However, Kuina's father did not even look her way.

"Kuina...!" The referee muttered with a bit of surprise feeling the air thicken in the room. His heart beat a little louder watching to see how Koshiro would react.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop my dear." He said finally turning to her as his smile dropped. Koshiro knew that she had been at the dojo's door the entire time listening but decided to continue on anyways. He could read the pure fury on his daughters face as she leaned forwards towards him putting her hand on her chest.

"I'll show you I can do it! I will become the world's greatest swordsman!" She yelled at her father as he turned away. The reflection of the dancing candle flame reflected on his glasses causing Koshiro's eyes to be covered.

"Kuina... As a girl, you can never become the world's greatest swordsman." The sensei looked back at his daughter seriously as the light reflected in his glasses faded away. Kuina widened her eyes as all the light drained out of them. The blue haired swordsman's mouth gaped open unable to believe what her father said. She took a ragged breath of air as she shuttered slightly. Finally, Kuina turned around clenching her fists as tightly as she could and walked away from the dojo quickly.

...

The green haired swordsman pushed open the heavy door stumbling inside the dark room to find a box who's contents where unknown. However, judging from the layers of dust accumulated on it there was nothing important inside. Leaning up against the box where two black katana. They were both simple swords, nothing special. They each had a black sheath and a black hilt along with an averagely crafted blade.

Zoro quietly walked towards the blades with a bit of hesitation in his step. He took them carefully into his hands gripping the katana tightly as he walked out of the storage room to find Kuina, closing the door behind him. He ran across the long path back to the dojo slowing down when he saw Kuina sitting down on the grass and crying. She finally spotted him quickly whipping away all the tears she could.

"Zoro...?" She questioned quietly looking up from the ground at her rival. He had a serious, determined expression on his face that was a bit clouded with worry.

"It's late out, what are you doing?" Zoro asked expecting her to be inside when he would challenge her. Kuina forced a strong look on her face refusing to show weakness in front of her rival.

"Funny... I was gonna ask you the same question. What are you doing out so late?" She almost snapped at him whipping the remainder of her tears away with a white handkerchief. Zoro took a couple of steps closer seeing Kuina's red and puffy face from all the crying that she had been doing before he came. He put the thoughts to the back of his mind continuing with what he was about to say and answering her question.

"I've come here to challenge you to your 2001st fight, and it's gonna be the last fight you and me will ever have." Zoro announced placing one of the sword's sheaths on the ground with a thud. As soon as Kuina told him to lean on her and Koshiro the green haired swordsman decided that he'd rather die fighting her then letting his demon take over. To Zoro, it was better to die in battle and never fulfil his dream then to hurt his nakama. "This ends tonight! Fight me with a real sword! You do have one don't you...?" The green haired swordsman held out his katana to her determinedly as Kuina widened her eyes slightly in surprise. Suddenly, his rival got the same determined look that he had.

"Real swords...?" She asked seeing Zoro shake slightly. A large smirk sprawled across Kuina's face as she looked into his eyes. "You're on!" The swordsman announced getting up from her seat. "I'll meet you at the place we had our 1999th fight... By the hill." Kuina stated walking past Zoro to get her sword from the storage room. The green haired swordsman nodded walking in the opposite direction, starting to make his way to the location she specified.

...

Kuina opened the heavy door to the storage room waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The light from the moon shone through the open door and onto the beautiful white katana. It was a true gem with a white hilt and a white sheath along with a blade made by a true master sword smith. The katana deserved it's fame, anyone could see its beauty, even if they weren't a swordsman. Kuina walked calmly over to the katana on the golden stand picking it up carefully, slightly unsheathing the blade to see its craftsmanship. The moon shone off the blade and reflected in her eyes while she whispered the katana's name quietly to herself. "The Wado Ichimonji..."

...

When Zoro finally made it to the place that Kuina told him to meet her at he looked around cautiously. He hadn't returned to that place since he tried to kill Kuina. He wanted to prevent the terrible feeling he was experiencing then. However, that was impossible. The memories of what happened came back to him and guilt struck his stomach hard, turning it until Zoro felt sick. He couldn't stand being in that place anymore he might have gone insane if Kuina hadn't showed up when she did. The little swordsman saw the beautiful katana in his rival's hands taking out his two katana and placing the sheaths underneath a tree. Kuina did the same with her katana as they walked into the middle of the opening getting in their fighting stances.

It felt as if time stood still while the two rivals stared at each other determinedly, the fight they were about to have was going to be different. They were fighting with real swords now, the two of them where risking their lives. They knew that whoever would lose the fight, would also lose their life.

**((Author's Note: I hope you liked the chapter! It was fun watching Zoro's past over and over again lol. I took the scenes from the anime since there is more to go on (his past is only like 2 pages in the manga) and it is relatively the same in the manga with very slight differences. Chapter 11 will be out as soon as possible!))**


	11. Kuina

# Kuina

**((Author's note: Exams are finally over and so is school! Finally! Hopefully now I'll be able to get chapters out quicker! I know I'm a super slow when it comes to getting chapters out, so sorry about that and thanks for sticking with me XP))**

The wind blew ominously through the field blowing the grass with a small rustling noise. As soon as the wind past and the two swordsmen where left in complete silence, Zoro rushed at his rival using the sword in his left hand to slash at the girl. Kuina raised her sword over her head bringing it down to block Zoro's strike as a huge clash was heard. Then, the green haired swordsman used his other sword to slash at the girl as she quickly dodged him, having her blue bangs cut by the katana.

Kuina quickly made a counter attack slashing her sword at the small swordsman's head as her rival quickly blocked it. The force of the blue haired swordsman's attack caused him to wince slightly as they pushed off each other and slid backwards.

There was a slight pause as Zoro clenched his teeth unable to find an opening in his opponent's techniques while she stared him down calmly. Finally the two of them cried out as they ran at each other exchanging countless clashes unable to get a hit. Each strike they threw at each other had all of their might in it, both of them using every ounce of strength they could muster.

After they still couldn't get a hit, the barrage of attacks ended. Both swordsmen pushed off each other once again finding themselves back at a distance from each other. Zoro was panting heavily unable to catch his breath as Kuina remained unaffected despite the amount of energy they both used.

"Two real swords are heavier then you thought huh?" She stated seeing her rival's exhausted condition. Zoro gritted his teeth together in frustration as he watched a small smirk play across Kuina's lips. "See? You still lack strength."

The green haired swordsman's face twisted up in anger at her comment. "Shut up!" He yelled at his rival. Before he could regain his focus Kuina was already running at him with incredible speed. Zoro was unable to react in time as she slashed at his chest, knocking both swords out of his hands. The force caused the green haired swordsman to go flying back. As he fell through the air he could see his life flashing before his eyes. He lost, he was going to die.

Kuina quickly flipped her sword so the blade was facing downwards as Zoro widened his eyes preparing for the strike. However, the hit never came. Kuina's sword stabbed into the ground right next to the green haired swordsman's head.

Another ominous wind passed the two of them as they froze, looking at each other in complete silence. Finally, Kuina smiled narrowing her eyes at the defeated rival. "Win... Number 2001." She stated quietly with pride hearing Zoro's swords finally fall from the sky and stab into the ground.

Kuina stood back up whipping her hair to get the sweat off. Then, she pushed the blue back out of her face closing her eyes and hearing the quiet whimpering noises coming from the ground bellow her.

Zoro put his hands over his eyes trying desperately to hold in the tears and keep himself calm. "Damn it..." He muttered taking a few ragged breaths. "This sucks...! I...I hate it...!" He cried again unable to accept what had happened. He should have been dead. Zoro challenged Kuina to a fight with real swords so that he could die in battle or... so that he could finally win against his rival and be strong enough to control the demon. That way he wouldn't have to hurt his nakama again. Now neither of those things happened. He was still alive, Kuina didn't kill him… Zoro couldn't defeat his rival and was still unable to stop himself from hurting his nakama.

"I'm the one who should be crying out of frustration, not you." Kuina said calmly looking down at the green haired swordsman. Zoro slowly brought his hands down from his eyes looking up at the blue haired swordsman with a bit of confusion.

"When girls grow up, it's natural for us to develop into physically weaker beings then men..." Zoro sat up slowly from the ground with watery eyes listening in shock to what his nakama was saying. "Even you will catch up to me soon enough..." Kuina looked up at the clear night sky talking with a tone of complete hopelessness.

"I've always heard you say to me, you're gonna be the world's greatest swordsman. When I told my father the same thing, he said I could never be that. And I know...! I know that! but... It's just so frustrating! You're lucky Zoro... Being born as a man..." The green haired swordsman climbed to his feet clenching his fists. It took all of Zoro's self-control to stay quiet and wait for her to finish.

"All I ever wanted was to be the world's greatest swordsman...!" Kuina put her hand on her chest as she closed her eyes tightly catching Zoro off guard and causing him to blush slightly. "My breasts have even started to grow up now. If only... If I had just been born a man!" Tears escaped the blue haired swordsman's eyes and ran down her cheeks as she clenched her teeth together tightly.

Zoro shook in anger at what his rival was saying clenching his fists with all his might. "Don't fly off at the mouth wining like that after you beat me!" Kuina opened her eyes shifting her gaze to meet Zoro's. "Because it's not fair! You're my goal! You know how this makes me feel!?"

"Zoro..." Kuina muttered weakly widening her watery eyes in shock. Her eyes shone in the light of the moon as her mind cluttered, unable to decide what to believe anymore. There was such fiery determination in Zoro, just like there was when he was fighting.

"Boy this! Girl that! Are you gonna keep up that same kinda talk after I beat you some day!? Like skill is irrelevant...! That's just an insult to all the training I've been pouring on every day! So don't say that crap would ya!?" The green haired swordsman walked closer to Kuina looking into her eyes, she could tell how serious Zoro was from his expression. "Now promise me... Promise me that someday one of us will be the world's greatest swordsman!"

"Huh?" Kuina gasped lightly as her eyes became slightly less watery. Zoro didn't care whether she was a boy or a girl, he never did. He truly believed in her, he believed that she could become the world's greatest swordsman. He believed that they were equals despite her gender.

"We'll compete and see who gets there!" There was a long pause as the two of them looked into each other's eyes deeply, feeling their emotions and understanding each other's thoughts.

Kuina turned away, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. "Dummy... You're so weak." Zoro held out his hand determinedly to Kuina, waiting for his rival to take it. The blue haired swordsman turned back to him slowly taking his hand as they announced their pledge together under the bright full moon.

"It's a promise!" They both smiled at each other releasing their hands. Zoro turned his back to her slowly walking to the two katana and pulling them out of the ground. As he did Kuina walked over to where they put their sheaths before the fight, placing her blades back inside it once again.

"Hey... Zoro..." Kuina said quietly as their backs faced each other. "Don't try to pull anything like that again... That idea of dying to protect me." She turned to him smiling slightly. "Now that we've made a promise, you aren't allowed to die until we've fulfilled it."

Zoro shook slightly as he grabbed his swords a bit tighter turning around and looking at the ground. He nodded in consent at what she said pausing for a moment. "The same goes for you." He responded quietly walking towards her as he grabbed the black sheaths and put his swords away.

"You don't have to worry about me." She said a bit concededly walking towards the dojo with her head held high. "Now common. It's already late. Sensei will be worried." Kuina stated changing the subject of the conversation.

"Ya... You're right." Zoro agreed calmly following his rival back to the dojo. They were both tired from their fight and looked forward to lying down in a nice soft bed. When the two of them got back they quickly stopped by the storage room to put the swords back where they found them so that Koshiro wouldn't find out what they did. When the two swordsman where sure the katana where safe, they ran back to the dojo crawling into bed and going to sleep.

...

The next day started out like any other... Kuina, Koshiro and Zoro ate breakfast together like a family as they usually did. Zoro trained first thing in the morning as Kuina had a sparring match with the referee. She was even stronger than before, so determined from what happened the night before that it caused her fellow students to stare in shock, along with her father. Kuina's power was so overwhelming it was incredible. The blue haired swordsman completely over powered the man she was fighting against.

"Woh...!" One of the students exclaimed widening his eyes almost unable to see her movements. "She's gotten even stronger than before!" The referee was finally unable to keep going as he was pushed back and fell onto his behind. Kuina sighed deeply, watching the man scratch his head with a smile.

"You are quite an incredible fighter, Kuina." The referee grinned in defeat. He chuckled slightly rubbing his back side to stop the throbbing from the fall.

"It's only natural." She responded with a smirk glancing at her father to see his shocked face. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have matters to attend to." Kuina said walking out of the dojo with a smug look on her face. The facial expression her father made was priceless, she loved how surprised he was at her strength. She'd definitely prove him wrong. She was going to be the world's greatest swordsman and prove to her father that gender didn't matter.

"If I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman I better start practicing with a real sword." Kuina said to herself noticing that in the fight with Zoro her movements where a bit slower due to the fact that she wasn't use to the weight of metal blades. She made her way over to the storage room pushing the door open and laying her eyes on the Wado Ichimonji, still in the same place that she left it the night before. Kuina closed the door behind her walking over to the katana and unsheathed a bit of the sword again to look at the blade seeing that it was a bit worn out from her last fight. "I better sharpen it first." She whispered quietly smiling slightly to herself.

Kuina sheathed the blade again and took the white katana off of its beautiful golden stand. She turned around quickly climbing up the store house steps to get her sharpening stone.

...

After Zoro finished his reps with the giant rocks he sighed quietly letting the weights hit the ground. He was about the pick up the bamboo sword resting on the ground near him until Zoro remembered what Kuina said to him during their fight, her voice echoing through his head. 'Two real swords are heavier then you thought huh?'

Kuina was right when she said that, he wasn't strong enough to use metal swords. His movements where slower and it took a lot more energy out of him then he thought. However, it would be different next time. Zoro was going to practice with real swords so that he'd be able to fight at full strength with them. He wasn't going to become the world's greatest swordsman with a bamboo katana after all.

"Yosh!" He said to himself walking towards the storage room to get his katana. "Once I get the hang of using two real swords I'll start using three! That'll be enough to beat Kuina for sure!" Zoro smiled to himself opening the heavy storage house doors.

He walked out of the sunlight and into the darkness of the storage room closing the doors behind him. There was nothing but silence as Zoro's eyes adjusted to the darkened room. When they did he was finally able to spot the plain black katana leaning against the dusty box, exactly how he left them the night before. Zoro unsheathed one of the swords seeing that the blade was a bit dull from his fight with Kuina the night before.

"I should sharpen these." He said to himself taking them off the box and looking past the light from the open window to see the storage house steps. He made his way over to them climbing up slowly as he heard each of his footsteps echo throughout the big, quiet building. When he finally reached the top, the light from the window could no longer be seen as his eyes had more adjusting to do for the new shade of darkness. From memory, he was able to start walking towards the room with the sword sharpener in it. Zoro reached for the doorknob as his hands just passed through air, his eyes finally adjusting enough to see that the door had already been opened. The green haired swordsman peered upwards as his gaze met with Kuina's who was standing at the door.

"Zoro?" The blue haired swordsman asked questionably seeing the two katana in her rival's hands. Kuina had thought that she was all alone in the storage house; the blue haired swordsman didn't hear Zoro coming. "What are you doing here?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him guessing that it was for the same reason as her.

"I was going to sharpen my katana." He responded seeing that Kuina was about to do the same thing, she already had the Wado and the sword sharpener in her hands.

"Oh I see." She stated walking past him calmly. "You can use the sharpening stone when I'm done." Kuina said starting to make her way towards the stairs. Suddenly, the little swordsman got a heavy feeling in his chest looking at Kuina's back as she got further and further from him. Time seemed to slow down suddenly as his breath caught in his throat. He didn't understand why he felt that way, he didn't understand why he felt as if he should get as far away from her as possible.

"I wouldn't think the Wado Ichimonji would get dull so easily..." The green haired swordsman forced out of his mouth, unable to take the heavy silence any longer. He ignored his feelings and took a casual step towards her to head outside. Maybe he was just tired.

"You aren't wrong." Kuina stated simply, stopping at the top of the stairs to talk and unsheathing the blade. She ran her finger along the metal looking at it carefully. "However, I need to keep this sword in top condition. It would be a shame to let it get worn out." The blue haired swordsman stated smiling slightly as she looked at the beauty of her sword, intrigued by its charm.

"How did you get it?" Zoro asked curiously, wondering how she could afford something so expensive. The question caused Kuina to think back to her past, getting lost in thought as she remained quiet for a moment. As the blue haired swordsman's mind became clouded she didn't notice her finger get a bit too close to the edge of the blade. As she ran her finger across the sharp part and cut herself wincing slightly as a trickle of blood spilled out.

"I guess it was a bit sharper than I thought." She muttered choosing not the answer her rival's question in hopes that he would forget about it. Kuina held her finger in front of her eyes to observe the deep cut as drops of blood hit the ground bellow her. "Oh well... It's not too bad." The blue haired swordsman smiled slightly dropping her hand back down by her side and looking up at Zoro. There was something wrong, his eyes where fixed on Kuina's finger as his body shook vigorously. "I said its fine. Don't worry." The blue haired swordsman stated again in a bit of an annoyed tone unable to understand what was going on.

Suddenly, the truth hit her as the green haired swordsman's eyes flashed red. Zoro quickly grabbed his face and chest hunching over as the bloodlust hit him harder than ever before. He gripped them tighter trying to fight his thirst but it was impossible, the craving was too much.

The blue haired swordsman saw Zoro's eyes peer through the cracks of his fingers and fix on Kuina's injury as he took a shaky breath. "Blood..." He whispered darkly as his gaze grew cold and blood thirsty. The corners of his mouth rose slightly as he slowly licked his lips. There was something ominous about the small swordsman, and Kuina new that something was wrong. Her body shook unwillingly as her mind raced. Something overwhelming was telling her to run...

"Z...Zoro?" The blue haired swordsman stuttered as her heart pounded in fear. The red eyes... That cold look... It took over Zoro so suddenly, just a second before he was acting normal. He wasn't angry, he wasn't desperate... So why…? Why was he acting like that demon!?

Kuina followed her nakama's gaze finally understanding where what his eyes where so fixated on. "Blood." Kuina stated to herself in realization hiding her hand behind her back hoping it would turn Zoro back to his old self. She had flashes of what happened to her the last time Zoro was taken over by his demon knowing that it wouldn't be that easy. Having no other options, Kuina readied herself for an attack.

The green haired swordsman unsheathed his two blades lunging at Kuina with his extraordinary speed and strength. She quickly dropped the sharpening stone along with the Wado's white sheath and used all of her power to parry his sword away. She slid back slightly from the force finding her heels at the edge of the stairs. Kuina kept her balance spinning away from Zoro's sword and sliding back from the stair case.

Despite her fear, the blue haired swordsman took a deep breath keeping her cool and thinking the situation through. Kuina knew that Zoro's power was overwhelming, she wouldn't be able to get out of the battle uninjured or without hurting Zoro. However, remembering back to the first time he lost control completely, Kuina could snap him back if she could just get her voice to reach him.

The blue haired swordsman looked into his cold red eyes deeply, unable to see the fiery determination she loved so much. There was nothing but the empty darkness of pure instinct which matched the expression on his face. She couldn't stand seeing her rival that way.

"Zoro! Get a hold of yourself... Don't be so weak! Letting this thing control you is pitiful..." She stated loudly taking a threatening step towards the little swordsman. "If you give up this easily, then you'll never be able to become the world's greatest swordsman!" Kuina raised her voice tightening the grip on her katana as she took another slow step closer to him.

Despite her attempts Zoro looked the same as he did before. His cold, red eyes still locked on the blood dripping down her finger and onto the floor. Suddenly, his gaze shifted off the blood and met with Kuina's eyes as his expression became darker, the smirk across his lips fading. "I won't lose... I refuse to lose...!" Zoro's eyes widened threateningly as a horrible dark aura enveloped his body.

'An aura...' Kuina thought to herself remembering that when she mentioned Zoro's predicament to her father he said something about an aura. The feeling of desperation to run away became stronger as the aura around Zoro did too.

As she was caught staring the green haired swordsman already started his next attack sending a barrage of slashes at Kuina. The extraordinary speed and power made his attacks impossible to keep up with as the dull blades slashed the blue haired swordsman repeatedly. Despite the fact that his swords where dull Zoro's inhuman strength made the slashes deep. In addition to that, the dark aura surrounding his katana made each cut feel as if she was being devoured. The blue haired swordsman's cries of pain caused Zoro's dark smile to return as Kuina's blood splashed on his face and hands.

The attacks finally came to a stop as Kuina swayed on her feet watching the floor around her turn red. Past the ringing in her ears she could hear Zoro's dark laughter ripping through the silent air around her. The blue haired swordsman couldn't help but think that everything happening to her was only a dream, a nightmare she had to wake up from. Kuina's best friend trying to kill her was something unimaginable.

"I'm not giving up on you yet dummy..." Kuina muttered to herself walking up to her rival while he was distracted and grabbing onto one Zoro's swords with her bare hand as the unsharpened, cold metal cut into her skin. "I said... GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" She stabbed her sword into the ground and punched Zoro with all her might as his body shook from the impact, his head being thrown back from the force. There was a long silence as Kuina tried to catch her breath. "Zoro, don't you want to beat me with your own power? A fight where you aren't yourself doesn't count, so winning or losing doesn't matter…" The blue haired swordsman said quietly.

Zoro turned his head back to her as his eyes widened, some of the darkness fading out of them to reveal desperation. "I w-won't... Kui..." Zoro gripped onto his head turning his back to the blue haired swordsman as he closed his eyes tightly. Kuina took a step back watching him struggle as a feeling of helplessness overcame her. Kuina wished she could do something to help him, but could only watch as he fought for control. Suddenly, the little swordsman's grip loosed on his katana as they dropped to the ground along with Zoro's body as a harsh thud echoed throughout the storehouse. Zoro had lost consciousness.

...

The little swordsman opened his eyes to see a room filled with nothing but darkness. 'Where am I...?' Zoro questioned looking down at his hands in sorrow. He was... Trying to kill Kuina... Zoro knew exactly what he was doing but he couldn't stop himself. He knew who he was attacking, he knew that she was his nakama, his best friend yet... he still didn't stop trying to cut her. Zoro brought his shaking hand up to the cheek that Kuina punched and remembered being hit but nothing after that. 'How did I get here?'

"Hmm... She's quite a nuisance, isn't she?" A voice echoes as Zoro looked around trying to find the source. He recognized that voice, from the time he and Kuina had their 1999th fight. When he first tried to kill her.

'YOU! Who are you!?' Zoro yelled furiously into the open air around him, looking into an empty void as he spoke. It was right after he heard that booming voice that the bloodlust started to take over him. He heard that voice right before he strangled his nakama. He scanned the area one more time to find the source of the voice taking his hand down from the bruise on his cheek.

Dark laughter from all around him filled Zoro's ears. "That's an easy one... I'm you." The voice came from behind the green haired swordsman that time as he quickly whipped his head around to see a light up face only inches away from his. The face had a sickening smile along with wild, bloodthirsty eyes. The little swordsman widened his eyes in fear as he let out a small yelp in surprise, falling down on his backside and squirming away from it quickly.

'What do you mean... you're me...?' Zoro questioned hesitantly, keeping his eyes locked on to the black figure in front of him.

"You want to be strong right? The greatest swordsman in the world...?" The figure said temptingly, approaching Zoro once again. There was still obvious fear in the little swordsman's eyes as he nodded hesitantly trying to hide the terror he was feeling. "You can't do that the way you are now. You need me!" It sneered as he held his hand out to Zoro. The little swordsman looked at the hand thoughtfully for a few seconds before swatting it away and rising to his feet.

'I don't need your help! I'm going to do it on my own! I won't let you hurt my nakama anymore!' Zoro yelled angrily at the figure clenching his fists tightly to stop himself from shaking. The figure laughed uncontrollably as black hands reached out and grabbed onto Zoro's arm, twisting and squeezing it with incredible strength. The little swordsman cried out in pain trying to pry the figure's hands off him with his other arm, but it was too strong.

"You where the one who hurt your nakama. As I said before, we are the same person..." He sneered narrowing his eyes in delight at the look of pure despair on the green haired boy's face. "I'll break you soon, Zoro... But in the meantime... Let's get rid of that pest..." The figure cheered, laughing at the little swordsman's expression of pure agony.

'N-no... Don't make me do it... Don't make me kill her!' Zoro pleaded quietly in a frightened, submissive tone. However, his begging was ignored as the figure punched Zoro's stomach causing him to cough up blood and lose consciousness again.

...

Kuina stared at Zoro's motionless body for a few moments in silence before she was able to properly process what had happened. "Zoro!" She pulled her katana out of the ground and placed it near the stairs carefully. Once her sword was with the sheath and the sharpening stone she ran over to the small swordsman shaking him gently. "Hey! Answer me... You're alive aren't you?" She called out, trying to suppress the desperation in her voice. As Kuina was shaking him she widened her eyes seeing a trickle of blood coming from her rival's mouth knowing that she wasn't the one that caused the injury. It appeared out of nowhere.

The swordsman's hand grabbed Kuina's wrist as shadows covered his eyes. He sat up slowly not uttering a single word to his nakama. "Stupid. If you were alive you should have said something." The blue haired swordsman said in an annoyed tone to suppress her relief.

"Kuina..." The green haired swordsman muttered as his grip on her wrist tightened immensely causing Kuina to flinch slightly.

"You're... Grabbing my wrist too tight. Loosen up a bit." The blue haired swordsman reached for Zoro's hand to take it off of her when his cold, instinctive gaze met her's. Kuina's eyes widened in terror realizing that Zoro wasn't the one who woke up. "Zoro...?" She said slowly in disbelief. Kuina thought it was over, she thought that her voice had finally reached him. She had dropped her guard and now, it was too late.

With one fluent motion, Zoro snapped Kuina's wrist back as the loud cracking sound of her bone breaking reached both of their ears. It happened so fast that it took a few moments for Kuina's body to process the pain as she looked at her bent back arm with the bone stretching her skin to make it visible. Finally, a blood curling scream escaped the blue haired swordsman's lips as she was pushed back to the edge of the stairs and lifted off the ground by her neck.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she gazed through her blurry vision at the small swordsman. The pain along with the crushing aura flushing through her body made it hard to move as Zoro lifted his other blood stained hand slowly.

"Zoro... S-stop..." Kuina whispered weakly still trying to break through to her nakama. She was about to raise her good arm when Zoro's fingers dug into the blue haired swordsman's shoulder so that he could rip more blood from her body, his nails piercing her skin. More thick red liquid leaked down Kuina's broken arm as he slowly brought his nails down Kuina's side, cutting through her deeply. The green haired swordsman could feel her skin along with blood under his nails and all over his hand. Kuina let out another cry in pain as Zoro's smirked from ear to ear in delight. Kuina's blood dropped down from his hand as he let out a cold chuckle.

Blood loss was finally getting to Kuina's small young body as her countless injuries dripped the warm red liquid onto the wood floor. Her body suddenly became ice cold as the colour flushed out of her face. Zoro slowly raised his hand to tear open Kuina's other shoulder, planning to repeat the same action until there was no more blood left in the blue haired swordsman's body.

Before he could, the blue haired swordsman smiled sadly using all of the energy she had left to speak, knowing that it was near the end of the line for her. "Z...Zor...o..." Kuina stuttered in a barely audible tone. "Don't... B-blame yourself... It... It's not... Your fault..."

Tears dropped down her cheeks as she lifted up her good arm to hold Zoro's shirt and pull him closer. When he was finally close enough, she kissed his forehead gently wrapping her arm around Zoro and squeezing him lightly. "I'm... Sorry... I... I... Couldn't k-keep... Our pro...mise..." Kuina whispered regretfully taking one more ragged breath before losing consciousness, her arm dropping back down to her side.

Suddenly, Zoro widened his eyes in terror quickly letting go of Kuina's neck and causing her limp body to go tumbling down the store house stairs. She cruelty smashed into the floor at the bottom, leaving a trail of blood on each step. The last of her blood leaked out of the new wound on her head and started pooling around her body. Kuina's words had finally reached Zoro, but it was too late.

The swordsman froze as his entire body shook, his eyes open as wide as they could go seeing Kuina's body at the bottom the stairs. Zoro tried to speak but his voice wouldn't come out even though his mouth was already open in shock. The green haired swordsman began to hyperventilate as he looked down at Kuina's blood on his hands, feeling it all over his face as well. He killed his best friend...

Suddenly, an agonizing scream came from the swordsman as he fell to his knees with tears streaming out of his eyes. The screams of terror and regret didn't die down as he gazed at his bloody, shaking hands. If only... If only Kuina would have killed him back then, during their 2001st fight.

Zoro knew that he had to do something quick, before he killed anyone else he held dear. The swordsman's eyes locked onto the Wado Ichimonji, the once white katana now covered in its owner's blood within arm's reach. Zoro slowly grabbed the katana tightly with both hands holding it up to his neck as it shook vigorously. If Kuina wouldn't kill him then he'd have to do it himself... It was for the best, he had to die. His best friend was dead and it was all his fault.

Zoro held his breath and closed his eyes as he prepared to slit his throat when a hard slap sent the katana tumbling out of his hands as it slid across the bloody floor.

"What are you doing Zoro!?" Koshiro's desperate voice reached the little swordsman as he opened his eyes again, looking at his sensei with pure terror. He had been so grief stricken that he didn't even notice his sensei climb up the stairs.

The look on his student's body covered in Kuins's blood along with that expression... the expression of a boy who regretted living and desperately wanted to end his life on that very spot. Koshiro had made it in time to save Zoro, but it was too late for Kuina. "Sen...sei...?" The little swordsman chocked out as his hands shook even more. "GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!" He screamed trashing the air as his tears fell on to the floor.

When his sensei didn't move Zoro continued to yell trashing around in desperation and fear. "Give the katana back! Don't interfere!" The green haired swordsman yelled scrambling towards the katana to finish what he was about to do. Koshiro quickly grabbed Zoro's arm finally feeling how much he was shaking.

"Stop that!" Korshiro raised his voice harshly for the first time since Zoro had met the man. He tightened his grip on the boy's arm pulling him away from the katana. "Ending your life will solve nothing!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Zoro cried at the top of his lungs pulling his hand forcefully away from Koshiro. The volume of Zoro's voice caused the sensei to flinch and lose grip of the green haired swordsman. "S...sensei... I... I... I killed Kuina... SENSEI I KILLED YOUR DAUGHTER!" He screamed again.

Koshiro looked painfully at his daughter's motionless body at the bottom of the stairs. He gritted his teeth together as tears came to his eyes but Koshiro hid his feelings from Zoro, shifting back to his calm, kind tone of voice. "She... May not be dead..." Koshiro muttered attempting to sound relaxed. "But you have to stay put while I go call for help." The sensei said knowing that what he said was probably a lie. However, he absolutely couldn't tell Zoro the truth with the state that the little swordsman was in. Just to be safe, the sensei took the three swords with him as he ran down the stairs beginning to shout for help.

Zoro was left at the top of the stairs in a curled up ball, shaking as he stared down at Kuina. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He whispered repeatedly with tears still flowing out of his eyes like an endless stream.

When Koshiro was finally at the bottom of the stairs he quickly put the bloody katana in a dusty box so nobody would see them. The sensei then ran outside yelling for help until some students heard him and saw his bloodied grey kimono as their eyes widened in fear. "Sensei what happened!?" The students yelled in a worried tone, running up to him.

"I don't have time to explain. Please, quickly get some help for me." Koshiro asked kindly as the students looked at each other with determination running as quickly as they could back to the dojo. When the students were out of sight, Koshiro ran back into the storage room examining his injured daughter.

A look of anguish took over the sensei's face as he saw her blue lips and colourless face connecting that all the blood round him was hers. From how things looked, Koshiro had enough information to figure out what had happened. However, the sensei knew nothing about medicine at all. Not even how to administer first aid on his own daughter... so he simply sat next to her, waiting for help to come.

"Zoro..." Koshiro muttered hearing his student's heavy breathing from the top of the stairs. "I think you should go wash up..." He said as more of an order then a suggestion, finding it easier to fake a calm voice then before. Koshiro knew he had to get his student out of there quickly before people could see what had happened, and before Zoro's mind could break completely.

Without a word, Zoro got up and slowly walked down the stairs not even trying to avoid the blood puddles. He looked straight ahead of him not even taking another glance at Kuina or the blood all over his body. His soulless eyes became covered by shadows as he slowly walked out to the storage room. The little swordsman didn't even notice the cold rain drops hitting his skin or the dark clouds blocking light from shining through as he walked away from the storage room.

Zoro walked slowly passed the river, unable to look at his reflection in the water anymore as he cleaned the blood off his face. However, the blood on his hands would never come off, no matter how much he would scrub. Once everything looked clean he changed his cloths inside the dojo and headed in the direction of the forest coming across the small opening with the hill in the middle. He leaned against the tree sheltering himself from the rain and curled up into a ball once again, seeing the grass danced in the wind as he wallowed in his own guilt and despair. Zoro stayed under that tree for hours, finally falling asleep from exhaustion.

...

"Oi Zoro! Breakfast is ready!" The sound of Kuina's voice hit Zoro's ears as his eyes cracked open. He quickly looked around seeing that he was back in his bed. The green haired swordsman ran down to the kitchen quickly opening the sliding door to see Kuina and Koshiro sitting around the table just like every other day.

"The food will get cold if you don't eat it soon Zoro." Koshiro smiled kindly motioning for him to sit down. Zoro glanced at Kuina happily watching her eat as she gave him a threatening glare.

"I'd eat his food before that happened." Kuina stated harshly continuing to scarf down the food in her bowl.

"Wait... You... You're still alive...?" Zoro questioned in a confused tone that was also overcome with happiness at the same time.

"Stop dreaming! You really think I'd die!?" Kuina asked angrily slamming down her bowl with a huff of annoyance. Zoro grinned unable to feel angry at his nakama as he ran over to the breakfast table picking up two chopsticks. Before he ate, Zoro looked down at his hands and suddenly froze in fear. "What's wrong with you now, Zoro?" Kuina questioned harshly.

"My hands... Are... Covered in blood..." He turned his head slowly towards Kuina seeing that she was suddenly covered in her own blood, full of gaping wounds that he inflicted on her. Zoro yelled in terror, dropping his chopsticks and falling off of his chair. He quickly scrambled away from her widening his eyes when he noticed her pale, cold skin. "S-sensei..." Zoro turned his watery eyes to see Koshiro crying with blood all over his kimono. The sensei walked slowly towards his student with the Wado in his hands.

"Why did you kill my daughter Zoro?" Koshiro asked in a pleading tone as he took a step closer to the green haired swordsman slowly unsheathing the sword and brining the blade towards the green haired swordsman.

"It's your fault... I'll never become the world's greatest swordsman now!" Kuina cried in a tone mixed with anger and sadness.

"N-No…! I-I didn't…" The green haired swordsman closed his eyes tightly tensing up all his muscles as he prepared for Koshiro to kill him. "I'm..."

...

"I'M SORRY!" Zoro yelled in terror, sitting up quickly and looking around in a panic. The bright sun hit his eyes as the swordsman realized he was back underneath the same tree he fell asleep in… and Kuina... was still gone.

"Zoro..." Koshiro said quickly snapping Zoro out of his dream completely. He waited for his student to make eye contact before telling him what happened.

"What time is it...?" The green haired swordsman asked quietly, still shaken up from his dream. It seemed so real... that was probably how Kuina and Koshiro really felt...

"It is almost supper time. The doctors finally arrived on the island... I left her with them. They'll do everything in their power to save her." The sensei informed the little swordsman kindly. However, when Zoro got a good look at him, Koshiro was pale as a ghost.

"So... There's still a chance she'll live?" Zoro asked emotionlessly, standing up quickly. He observed Koshiro's expression trying to get an answer as quickly as possible but found he was impossible to read.

"Indeed there is." The sensei said calmly watching his student's gaze shift. A slight sad, yet relieved smile came to Zoro's face despite the fact that he wasn't quite out of the darkness yet. The guilt of what he did to her was still buried underneath the happiness that she was alive. "So would you like some supper?" Koshiro smiled kindly watching the student shake his head.

"I'm not very hungry..." The little swordsman responded quietly as he put his head down, walking past his sensei slowly to go train. It was the only way he could get his mind off of everything that happened.

When Zoro was gone Koshiro's smile dropped. He put his hands on his face letting small tears roll down his cheeks. The sensei knew he would have to tell Zoro the truth eventually, but for the time being it would be better to let his mental state heal a bit before that happens. He would keep Kuina's death a secret for as long as he could... even if he could only give Zoro one more day of grace.

"Kuina won't die... She wouldn't die... We made a promise..." Zoro muttered to himself painfully as he walked towards the dojo. 'When Kuina recovers... I'll show her how much stronger I've gotten... By the time she recovers, I'll master three sword style!' He thought to himself closing his eyes and running to where he left his bamboo swords, remembering that his real ones where still with Koshiro. Zoro gritted his teeth together looking at the training swords, lost in thought. Kuina's severely injured... all because of him...

As the thoughts started to invade his mind Zoro gave himself a hard punch in the face leaving a red mark right where Kuina had left her's. Before he could think any more, Zoro picked the bamboo swords and ran over to the training posts staring to practice his techniques. The green haired swordsman spent the rest of the day training, making sure his mind remained blank so he could keep himself sane.

At the end of the day, the sun was setting as Zoro lifted the rocks like weights, having a heavy dumbbell in his mouth. 'Gotta get stronger... So I can hold lots of swords! Two's not enough... I'll use three...!' He thought with Kuina on his mind. He knew she would live... She had to live... They made a promise after all...

Three students hid in the shadows of the trees, their heads down low as they stared at the grass beneath them, unable to make eye contact with Zoro. The green haired swordsman finally looked up from his training seeing the three boys. He was in no mood to talk to anyone at the moment, he didn't want anyone to get near him anymore... "What do you want!?" He snapped putting down his weights in hopes that the boys would go away. However, after a long pause one them looked up at Zoro, clenching his fists in sorrow.

"Kuina... Kuina... Is dead, Zoro..." One of the boys said slowly as the wind whipped across the training field. The green haired swordsman stood there silently staring at the three boys with the dumbbell still in his mouth unable to believe what he heard. Zoro's body shook as the dumbbell fell out of his mouth and onto the ground.

"LIAR!" Zoro shouted suddenly clenching his fists and closing his eyes tightly. "Quit lying to me! Sensei said there where doctors there!" The green haired swordsman continued to scream as he shook his head.

"But... Zoro..." The other little boy said quietly, trying to talk sense into him. "We're... We're telling you the truth." They protested sadly trying to hold in their tears as Zoro continued to freak out, faced with the despair of killing his friend. There was no hope left of her surviving, nothing left for him to hold so he could stay sane. She was really dead... and he killed her.

"She wouldn't die like that! She promised me... She promised!" He yelled as the little swordsman sprinted by the three boys as quickly as he could. Tears came to his eyes as he ran towards his nakama, the only thing that kept him going, the only reason why he didn't kill himself was that hope she was alive. If he opened that door and saw the boys where telling the truth, he would have nothing left to live for. His dream would have died with her... How could he continue his dream when he destroyed his best friend's? How could he steal that dream from Kuina after murdering her? He couldn't...

The green haired swordsman barged into the storage room to find a blanket over Kuina's head and all her injuries cleaned up. His eyes widened in shock as he dropped down to his knees, staring at her dead body. She had died from blood loss before the doctors even arrived...

The green haired swordsman froze on the spot feeling his life drain out of him as he saw Kuina's motionless on the ground. Right there and then... Zoro broke completely... nothing could put those pieces back together anymore.

"We were told to give these to you." One the doctors said handing Zoro his two katana. He slowly took the katana in his hands seeing that someone had cleaned to blood off of them. The little swordsman stared at the shaking katana in his hands as the memories of everything he did to her flooded back into his mind, playing on constant repeat. Zoro snapped thinking about his murder getting up and running towards Kuina's body.

"You bastard! Both of us made a promise last night! And now you're running away!?" Zoro yelled trying to run to Kuina but was held back by a student along with one of the doctors. Zoro wasn't angry at Kuina, he was angry at himself for killing her. He just couldn't accept the fact that she was dead.

"Zoro please don't be like this." One of the students pleaded through tears, unable to understand the amount of pain Zoro was feeling. When Kuina didn't respond tears escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks as he fell to the ground again. The people let go of him backing away slightly as Zoro cuffed his face into his hands crying loudly. Kuina was truly dead... and everyone was shielded from the truth of what really happened to her...

...

The funeral was held the next day. Zoro had skipped breakfast as he spent the night underneath that tree in his favourite place looking at the same spot in the ground with an emotionless, despair written expression on his face. When it was finally time for the service to start, he went directly to the funeral from there. It was another rainy day, just like it was when Kuina had died...

"They said she slipped and fell down the store house steps..." One of the adults whispered in a hushed tone as Zoro walked quietly behind Kuina's coffin, the rain streaming down his face.

"Store house...?" The other adult replied in a confused and shocked tone unable to think of a reason for such a young child to go into the store house.

"Looking for a sharpening stone for her beloved sword." The adult answered quietly as Zoro kept the same emotionless expression on his face.

So that was the story Koshiro told everybody... He claimed to be on a walk when he heard a scream come from the storage house. When he walked in Kuina was at the bottom of the stairs with a bloodied head, her unsheathed sword along with the sharpening stone lay next to her on the ground. The sensei told everyone that she fell down the stairs with her sword explaining some of the injuries found on her body. It was a weak cover up, however thanks to Koshiro's connections no one looked into it.

"What would she need that for?" The other adult asked as the green haired swordsman had flashes of what really happened, of what he did to her inside that store house.

"I don't know..." The first adult whispered back breaking Zoro's thoughts as he calmed himself down.

"She was just a child too..." The second adult stated shaking his head in sorrow and disbelief.

"Who knows why anyone does anything? There's no way to rationalize it." The adult said remembering Kuina when she was still alive. Just like anyone else, he couldn't believe that she died so suddenly.

"Guess you never know what's waiting for you around the next corner." The second adult whispered. Just the other day everything was fine, the dojo was the same as it always was but now... Everything was different.

Zoro watched as they lowered her coffin into the grave hearing the loud crying and whimpering of everyone that knew her around him. Even the smile that had always been on Koshiro's face was gone... The guilt ate away at the green haired throughout the entire service. It took everything he had not to come out and tell everybody what he did, so that he could get the hatred he deserved but if he did that, Koshiro's efforts would have been for nothing. On top of that, he would turn into a criminal for murdering Kuina.

Zoro didn't speak throughout the entire service or let his emotions show either. The swordsman seemed completely empty inside. Zoro knew that if he let out any emotion he would break down.

As soon as the funeral ended Zoro quietly turned away from the grave yard and walking slowly towards the dojo where he could continue with his training. The rain had finally stopped and was replaced with heavy fog as he walked by the place Zoro and Kuina had their 1999th fight, picking up the two bamboo swords leaning against the tree where he left them the night before. The green haired swordsman looked around the area remembering back when Kuina was alive when he quickly closed his eyes tightly to push the thoughts away. Zoro ran from the area as quickly as he could until he finally pushed open the sliding doors to the dojo.

Zoro peered into the room catching his breath and widening his eyes when he realized it was empty. He didn't really know why he went there in the first place. Maybe... Zoro had thought that he might find the blue haired swordsman fighting in there, alive and well... However, nobody was there. It was just an empty room. He peered down the hall that he ran through to get there mentally kicking himself for what he was thinking. He just came from Kuina's funeral, yet there he was trying to find her... As if she was still alive.

The green haired swordsman clenched his fists slowly walking down the hall to get out of the dojo when he ran into his sensei at the entrance. Koshiro looked down at his student with a kind smile. "What are you looking for Zoro?" He asked gently, noticing the confused look on his student's face.

"Nothing..." The little swordsman responded truthfully in a hollow voice. The two of them stood at the door in silence for a while until Koshiro spoke up, knowing Zoro needed something to get his mind off of current events. At least until the preparations were made.

"Hey, Zoro. There's a match set up for you later today if you feel up to it." Koshiro stated leaning forward to be more at Zoro's height as he spoke.

"I'm up to it..." Zoro muttered taking a couple of steps past Koshiro, finally getting out of the dojo. The green haired swordsman never gazed up from the ground, he found himself unable to look at his sensei.

"Then come by the sparring arena during my first class." The sensei said raising the volume of his voice very slightly, to make sure Zoro heard him. The green haired swordsman didn't utter a word and only continued to walk forward. Koshiro knew he was heard and only smiled slightly wider continuing inside to dojo.

A couple hours passed until Koshiro's first class as finally about to begin. He casually walked to the sparring area finding that his students where already waiting for him. "Today, Zoro will be sparring with one of you." The sensei announced as soon as he walked in, getting straight to the point.

As if on cue, the green haired swordsman opened the sliding doors and walked in, gripping his bamboo swords tightly as a gloomy air followed him into the dojo. All of the adults looked down at the small child feeling the tension in the air around him as he passed. They knew that something was weighing heavily on the little swordsman's heart just by glancing at him.

"Kenzo. You're up." Koshiro smiled glancing at a tall muscular man. Kenzo smiled nervously raising to his feet and facing Zoro. The man chuckled slightly knowing that he stood no chance against the gifted child. The referee stepped forwards starting the fight with their traditional bowing until he swiped his hand down.

"Start!" The referee announced stepping back to the side lines and giving the two fights as much space as possible. As soon as he had the chance Zoro attacked his opponent with a barrage of slashes. Kenzo was overwhelmed by Zoro's speed and power. He got pushed back further and further until the green haired swordsman finally hit his side, causing the man to drop his bamboo swords and go flying across the floor. All of the other student's mouths gaped open in sight of the little boy, despite Kenzo being the best in their class the little kid was still able to defeat him so easily. The fight was over before it even began.

Koshiro observed his student carefully noticing that despite his victory, Zoro was not his usual self. There was no pride, joy, determination or anything in his eyes as he won the duel. There was still nothing there, no emotion at all as if Zoro was being forced to suffer through life every second of the day. When Zoro finally caught his breath again he exhaled loudly closing his eyes gently and making his way towards the exit of the dojo. Without another word, the green haired swordsman silently left.

As soon as he walked out Zoro started training again, it was the only thing he knew how to do. He put a dumbbell in his mouth and vigorously hit the training posts as he practiced his sword techniques. 'I have to leave...' The swordsman thought to himself as he continued training. 'I'm going to train for a couple of more days here... And then go back to living on the streets... I... I won't let anyone else die because of me.' Without even noticing it, Zoro had stopped hitting the post and got lost in thought. When he finally snapped out of it the swordsman decided to continue his training by the river.

Zoro found the rock he lifts in the water walking by the river. He put the rope attached to the rock in his mouth and lifted it off the ground. The green haired swordsman lifted the rock with perfect concentration until he thought he heard Kuina voice coming from behind him. As if she was watching him train.

"You're getting stronger Zoro, but you're still not strong enough to beat me." The voice teased as it echoed in his head. He looked down at the water seeing her sitting on top of some rocks not too far away. He widened his eyes quickly dropping the rock out of his mouth and turning around to see her, but nobody was there. He was all alone...

Zoro clenched his fists closing his eyes tightly as he let out a shout of frustration and regret into the open air. Despite his training, he was still unable to get her off of his mind.

He trained relentlessly for the rest of the day still not stopping for lunch or supper. The green haired swordsman didn't even notice how many meals he skipped.

When the sun was setting Zoro had the dumbbell back in his mouth as he practiced his sword techniques on the three training posts surrounding him. Eventually, he hit them with such force that the posts all snapped in half.

Once Zoro took a breather he turned around to see Koshiro standing next to him, holding the Wado Ichimonji in his hands. The green haired swordsman widened his eyes at the sight of the white katana dropping the dumbbell out of his mouth and onto the floor. "Zoro. May you please come to the dojo with me? We must discuss important matters." He said turning his back to the student.

"Alright..." Zoro muttered walking towards Koshiro when he suddenly bent down to pick something up off the floor. Behind him was a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. He picked up the food turning around and holding it out to Zoro.

"You mustn't skip meals Zoro. It isn't good for your health." The sensei said giving his student a slight smile. The swordsman glanced at the steaming rice for a long time before final snatching it out of his hands and devouring the contents inside. "I had a feeling you'd be hungry once you had some. I'll make you more food later." Koshiro grinned taking the chopsticks and the empty plate from Zoro, motioning him in the direction of the dojo.

The green haired swordsman followed close behind as the sensei placed the bowl and chopsticks just outside of the room, sitting with his back turned to Zoro. The swordsman walked into the shaded room and closed the sliding door behind him, sitting down across the floor from his sensei.

"I noticed that you haven't looked at me since the funeral." Koshiro stated breaking the silence in the dojo. "Why is that?" The sensei asked with sincerity in each word.

"Sensei..." Zoro muttered unable to answer his question directly. "Why...? Why don't you hate me!?" The green haired swordsman asked raising his voice as he clenched his fists in his lap. "I... I don't understand. I killed your daughter... Yet... You're still being so nice to me! You're still trying to help me... Why!? If you hated me it would be so much easier to understand!" He shouted looking at the ground.

Heavy silence filled the air as the squeaking of a bug could be herd out the window. "It may appear otherwise to the blind eye but, people are quite, fragile things. Kuina... She was a very competitive girl. From the time she was old enough to make a decision for herself, she practiced in this dojo achieving strength that surpassed many adults." Koshiro began to explain slowly, finding it hard to speak about it daughter.

"It was this fruition of power that caused her to become a bit conceded... And then you appeared, Zoro. And I thank you for this because as you grew ever stronger Kuina felt compelled to practice even more, so as not to lose to you... so as not to lose to a boy. Through this she had begun to chip away at the walls of female swordsmanship." Koshiro stated keeping his eyes straight in front of him the entire time making his emotions impossible to read.

"Despite any of which I speak, I am... above all other things an ordinary parent." Zoro clenched his fists harder closing his eyes tightly shut as his body began to shake hearing what his sensei was saying. "And as any human, I am bound by my emotions as well as well as my blood... When I look at you now Zoro, I... Feel only pain..." Koshiro finished calmly.

Tear drops hit the floor underneath Zoro as he reopened his eyes keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. His body shook slightly against his will as all of his muscles tensed up while he tried to remain calm. No amount of apologies could ever fix what he did... Nothing could heal the pain that he made Koshiro suffer.

"I was with Kuina... During her last moments." Koshiro continued painfully, breaking the silence in the dojo once again. "Her... Last words where for you, Zoro... She asked me to give you a message..." The sensei said slowly, looking at the ground and remembering the final moments with his daughter.

...

"Kuina..." The sensei said quietly forcing himself to use a calm tone as he looked at his daughter's bloody, injured body. "Hang on, help is on the way."

The blue haired swordsman forced her heavy eyes open. Everything around her was a blur and the room was spinning. A sharp pain could be felt throughout her entire body along with a sheering coldness that wouldn't go away. Through her half closed eyes, Kuina could make out the blurry outline of Koshiro hovering over her. "Fa...ther?" Kuina whispered weakly making sure it was really him.

"Yes Kuina, I'm here." The sensei responded quietly. He could hear the pain in his daughter's voice as she spoke, along with her shallow breathing.

"Where's... Zoro...? Is he... alright...?" Kuina asked quietly with worry in her voice. Despite her situation, despite what he did to her, Kuina was still more worried about Zoro then she was about herself.

Koshiro thought about what to say to his daughter remembering when he first found Zoro at the top of the stairs, with the blade to his neck. The look on his face and the tone of voice he used, it was obvious that the green haired swordsman was not alright. However, he couldn't tell his daughter that. He couldn't let her worry. "Yes, he's fine..." He forced out trying to sound as if he was telling the truth.

"G-good..." Kuina whispered in relief with a slight exhale as the corners of her mouth rose into a small smile. After hearing that, she could have some peace of mind.

"Now stop talking, save your strength." Koshiro said worryingly as he glanced at the door with an impatient expression to see if help had arrived yet. He knew it would be impossible for them to get there so quickly but Kuina was running out the time, she kept on losing blood. There were too many injures for the sensei to try and stop the bleeding so he had no other options other than to just wait.

Kuina shook her head slowly, raising her good hand up to her father. It shook as she slowly lifted it off the ground feeling stabbing pain shoot up her body at the movement. Koshiro quickly grabbed his daughter's hand squeezing it lightly as Kuina winced slightly, almost not having the energy to keep her hand there long enough for her father to grasp it.

"P-Please... tell Zoro... something... for me..." The blue haired swordsman forced out weakly as Koshiro nodded leaning in closer to make sure that he could hear what she was trying to say. "Tell Zoro... That... h-he'd better... keep the promise... we... made..." Her voice got weaker with each word until she finished her sentence, closing her eyes once again. Kuina's hand went limp, slipping out of Koshiro's grip and falling on the ground. Kuina took her last breath as the girl's heart slowly faded and stopped.

Koshiro closed his eyes and cried quietly over his daughter, his tears dripping onto Kuina's peaceful looking face.

...

Zoro widened his eyes in shock as he stared speechlessly at his sensei's back. The green haired swordsman gritted his teeth together with watery eyes as his entire body tensed up. Zoro's chest tightened as his stomach twisted with guilt remembering the promise they made.

She really wanted him to become the world's greatest swordsman... Even after what he did to her. That was Kuina's last wish... for him to fulfill their promise... and that's exactly what he was going to do, even if it costed him his life. Thanks to Kuina's last words, Zoro had something to live for again.

"S...sensei..." Zoro choked out between ragged breaths as Koshiro turned his head to look at the little swordsman. "I ask that you let me have that sword..." Zoro stated quietly.

The sensei slowly glanced down at the beautiful white katana shining in the light of the window. "Kuina's sword...?" Koshiro questioned quietly. The little swordsman looked at his sensei in the eyes raising his head.

"I'll get stronger! Stronger than she ever was do you hear me!? Strong enough that my name reaches up to the heavens!" Zoro yelled clenching his teeth tighter, tears still streaming down his cheeks. The look of determination was finally back in his eyes. "I am going to be the world's greatest swordsman. I promised her... I... promised... I did..." The green haired swordsman wept closing his eyes and lowering his head again.

Koshiro smiled slightly enjoying the passion that finally came back to his student's voice. "Yes... The sword is yours." The sensei stated kindly turning to face Zoro as he picked up the sword and held it out to him. The green haired swordsman's tears stopped as he opened his eyes looking at Koshiro with a bit of shock. "I leave her spirit and her dreams in your hands." The sensei said smiling wider as Zoro's shocked expression turned to an anguished one. The tears started to flow down his cheeks again as his body shook vigorously finally letting out all of his emotions and starting to cry loudly.

Koshiro gave his student a moment to calm down before he spoke once again. "However, before I can let you leave today... We have to do something about that demon of yours." Koshiro added letting Zoro take the katana as his crying quieted down so he could hear what his sensei was saying.

"Do something about my demon...?" He asked slowly sniffling as he caught his breath, holding the white katana tightly in his arms.

"Indeed..." Koshiro answered simply as his smile dropped back down to a serious frown. "We are going to perform an exorcism... and seal it!"

**((Author's note: Finally done! Wow this was a really long chapter. Some parts of this where so hard to write haha! I hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 12 will be out as soon as possible))**


	12. Pain

# Pain

**((Author's Note: Thanks again for all of the great reviews! Sorry for making you guys cry! Your reviews (and cookies) really keep me going!))**

"An exorcism...?" Zoro repeated slowly with a confused yet slightly interested look on his face. He finally whipped away the last of his tears waiting for Koshiro to continue.

"Yes. I have everything set up in another room. Once I seal the demon, you won't lose control anymore... At least you won't for a while." The sensei explained watching as his student's expression suddenly became consumed with anger.

"So... There was a way to seal this demon inside of me... and you knew this way existed all along...?" The green haired swordsman asked quietly, obviously trying to hold himself back until he knew the answer for sure.

"Indeed... I did know about this method from the start." Koshiro stated emotionlessly as his student jetted up to his feet. He ran over to the sensei grabbing the collar of his kimono and staring him straight in the eyes, gripping the material tighter.

"Then why...? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU USE IT BEFORE I KILLED KUINA!?" Zoro shouted as his eyes suddenly flashed red. The sensei examined the look in Zoro's gaze for a bit longer seeing the fire of anger, frustration and anguish mixed inside of them. He let out a small exhale and slowly shut his eyes.

"This sealing is a very dangerous procedure... You could die in the process. Also, there was a high chance that the demon would take over completely and you would end up as a mindless killer." Koshiro stated calmly hoping that if he held his usually relaxed demeanour it would calm his student down.

"I don't care if I die! It would have been better then killing Kuina!" The green haired swordsman stated loudly with pain in his heart. "You should have put the life of your daughter before mine!" Zoro continued desperately.

"I didn't know... I thought that you may have been able to control it by yourself. So I waited before performing to exorcism. However, it is apparent now that you cannot control it. That's why I resorted to this method, because I have to seal your demon before it can take over completely." The sensei explained waiting for his kimono to be released. The green haired swordsman stared into his sensei's eyes a bit longer before calming down and slowly letting go of the kimono. Koshiro was right, it was Zoro's fault for not being able to control it on his own, not his sensei's.

"Which room is it set up in?" Zoro muttered quietly, feeling bad for snapping at his sensei like that. The little swordsman threw the blame at him so easily as if he needed a way to lighten the weight on his shoulders. However, throwing that weight on to Koshiro was not the right thing to do and Zoro knew that.

"Just follow me." Koshiro responded raising to his feet and heading towards another room inside the dojo. The room Zoro's sensei lead him to was a bit smaller than the other one and it seemed like it hadn't been used for a while considering the amount of dust on the floor. The small black table was pushed all the way to the corner of the room to make space for a strange looking pentagram in the middle.

The pentagram was drawn in red paint and circular, with a strange looking star pattern in the middle. In the centre of that star there was another pentagram with the same pattern. Also, on the outside and all around the pentagram there was strange writing in another language. On each point of the big star there was a black candle that hadn't been lightened.

Koshiro stepped onto the dry red paint and motioned Zoro over to him with a kind smile. The little swordsman hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching his sensei in the middle of the pentagram.

"Zoro, I'll need you to hold out your hand." The sensei said bending down to pick up one of Zoro's black swords that he had put in the room beforehand. The student held out his hand as Koshiro moved it over the centre of the pentagram. The sensei was unsheathing the sword when Zoro finally noticed that the katana was his.

"Oh sensei, where did you find that?" Zoro asked curiously, unable to even remember where he had left it. He couldn't bear to look at them after he hurt Kuina.

"I found these leaning against a tree." He smiled slightly placing the sheath on the floor next to the other katana and held the blade up to Zoro's finger. The little swordsman's eyes widened in fear remembering the small drop of blood from Kuina's finger. That small drop made him lose control... he couldn't let that happen again.

"W-wait! Sensei what are you doing!?" Zoro's raised his voice fearfully snapping his hand back and holding it close to his chest. "If... If I see blood... I-I don't want to kill you sensei!" The little swordsman forced out finding it hard to shake the fear from his heart so he could talk.

"Trust me Zoro. I will not let anything bad happen. You won't lose control." Koshiro insured smiling a bit wider as he gently grasped his student's hand and placed it over the middle of the pentagram again. The green haired swordsman watched what his sensei was doing in terror as he quickly and painlessly made a small cut in Zoro's index finger, letting the blood drip down to the centre of the pentagram.

As soon as the blood escaped the student's finger a strong bloodlust hit Zoro as his eyes flashed red. He gripped his chest and katana, falling down to his knees and hunching over using all of his strength to control himself. "S-sen...sei...!" The green haired swordsman struggled to say, his voice shaken and terrified.

As soon as he could, Koshiro threw the katana down on pentagram whipping out a lighter along with a white candle from his kimono. The sensei lit up all of the black candles around the pentagram holding the white candle a bit tighter as he began to mutter to himself.

"Blood of red give birth to right and seal away this shadow's might. Demons above and below, will hurt both friend and foe. To go into his world is my goal, filling this person with eternal control!" Koshiro quickly lit up the white candle in his hand before throwing the lighter away and placing both hands on the candle. He then closed his eyes and finished the chant. "This is my will... So be it may!" He stated raising his voice.

...

Koshiro slowly opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness all around him. He looked down to see that the candle was no longer in his hand taking a step forward to process all of the information.

'So the infiltration was a success.' The sensei said quietly to himself as he cupped his hands around his mouth. 'Zoro!' Koshiro shouted into the darkness hearing the faint sound of his student's cries in the distance. The sensei quickly picked up the two black katana at his feet and started running forwards towards the noise. It continued to get louder until he saw the figure's hand around Zoro's head, lifting him in the air and squeezing to crush his skull.

"Just pass out already and leave everything to me!" The shadow sneered as it tightened its grip on Zoro's head even more. The little swordsman yelled in pain as his eyes started to roll to the back of his head until he was suddenly released.

Koshiro hit the figure with the katana that was still sheathed sending it skidding back away from them. Zoro dropped down to the ground groaning in pain and gasping for air as he slowly looked up to see Koshiro standing over him.

'How... How did you get here!?' Zoro asked in between gasps with a shocked yet thankful tone. Once he pretty much caught his breath and the pain started to fade the student stood back on his feet swaying a bit before finally getting a hold of himself once again.

'It is part of the sealing technique. It allows me to be in here...' Koshiro held up the black katana in his hand as the student widened his eyes slightly. He glanced down at his own hands remembering that he still had the Wado Ichimonji with him. Despite the fact that he was gripping the sword so tightly, he didn't even notice it was in his hands. With the swords that his sensei brought, along with his... There were three.

"Oh! So somebody else decided to join the party. I'm excited to see what your blood looks like..." The figure smirked darkly approaching Koshiro with an intense bloodlust in its eyes. "Once I kill you and the kid... I'll finally be able to become the ruler of this place but I might as well have some fun while I'm at it. So I'll kill you two slowly and painfully." It said with a sickening, excited tone.

'Sensei... Please hand me those two blades.' Zoro muttered stepping in front of his sensei and staring at the shadow in front of him angrily. 'I want to be the one who defeats him!' The green haired swordsman raised his hand waiting for the swords to be placed in them, not breaking his gaze away from the figure.

'No Zoro. I can't let you do that. As you are now... You are nowhere near strong enough to take on this demon.' Koshiro stated bluntly with a toneless voice. Zoro flinched hearing those words, trying to keep himself from charging in without the other katana. There was a long silence until the little swordsman finally came to his decision.

'I have to... at least try.' Zoro whispered to himself. He was so overcome by rage with a desire for revenge that his judgment became clouded. The only thing on his mind now was to at least cause his demon some pain for Kuina's sake.

Zoro drew the Wado Ichimonji and let it's sheath drop in the ground. He turned around grabbing the hilt of one katana and yanking the sword out of its sheath, stabbing the blade into the ground as he left Koshiro holding on to an empty sheath. He then hit the sword in Koshiro's other hand with the Wado causing it to fly out of the sensei's hands.

There was a long silence as Koshiro widened his eyes, staring at his student in shock as he glanced down at his hands to see only two empty, black sheaths remaining in his grip. He never thought that Zoro would be as desperate as to take the swords by force. He dropped his guard and now there was nothing he could do.

The green haired swordsman breathed a bit heavily pulling the sword next to him out of the ground and walking over to the other katana that he had knocked away. 'Zoro! Don't be rash!' Koshiro rose his voice with a bit of hidden desperation coming to surface.

Suddenly, the sensei's eyes widened watching his student place the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth as he held the other two katana firmly in his grip. 'Three sword style...?' Koshiro questioned in shock. He had never seen a sword technique like that before.

Zoro approached the figure slowly as he bit down on the katana in his mouth. He had never used three sword style in a real fight but there was no better time to test it out... The technique he was going to use to defeat Kuina, would now be the technique that he'd use to defeat the one who killed her.

"Are you finally done talking over there? You're making me bored..." The shadow let out an over exaggerated yawn as it's smile widened. "It would be no fun to take over when no one's even paying attention!" The figure said as it shrugged.

Zoro speechlessly walked over to it tuning out Koshiro's yells of protest behind him. 'Die!' The green haired swordsman yelled slashing down at the shadow in front of him with the katana in his right hand. It easily stepped out of the way keeping the same annoying grin on its face.

"Close one!" The figure laughed as Zoro slashed at its side with the sword in his other hand but the shadow just jumped up chuckling darkly and taunting him. "You're way too slow!" The shadow said continuing to laugh as it waited for the little swordsman's sorrowful expression. However, it's laugher was cut off when Zoro used the sword in his mouth to slash at the airborne demon.

It widened its eyes using a barely visible hand to catch the blade before it could make contact with the figure's body. The technique was still imperfect, the sword in his mouth didn't have enough speed or power yet... However, he came so close to hitting it. The green haired swordsman grinned slightly around the sword in his mouth watching as the shadow dropped back down to the ground, the katana's blade still in its hand.

"I've had enough of you..." The figure muttered in a bit of an angered tone narrowing it's eyes and gripping the blade tighter.

'Well I'm just getting started!' Zoro announced loudly as he rose his two other swords to strike at the demon again. However, the figure was acting differently than before...

'ZORO! DON'T DROP YOUR GUARD!' Koshiro yelled as loud as he could... but it was too late. Black spikes came out of the shadow's body piercing through Zoro's shoulder and stomach. Pain ripped through the small swordsman's entire body as he looked down at the spikes, widening his eyes. Zoro's blood splashed on the black ground beneath him as he struggled to remain conscious.

The sensei ran towards Zoro as fast as he could using the sheaths in his hands to swat the figure away from his student as the spikes where ripped out of the little swordsman's body. The swords dropped from Zoro's mouth and hands as he coughed up blood falling to his knees. Koshiro caught Zoro so he wouldn't hit the ground, wrapping his arms around the student gently.

'Zoro! Listen to me! You can't lose consciousness! If you lose consciousness it's all over!' The sensei shouted as the green haired swordsman shifted his heavy gaze over to the sensei. Koshiro was so blurry and it felt as if the dark room was spinning. The pain in his stomach and shoulder was so intense that it was spreading throughout his entire body... Such an unbearable pain that he had never felt before... and that was the what he caused Kuina to experience. Only for her, it was worse...

'Sen...sei... I'm... I'm... sorry...!' Zoro said through the blood in his mouth as it spilled down his chin and tears formed in his eyes. Koshiro was right and the little swordsman knew that he wouldn't be strong enough to defeat it anyways... He just had to try... for Kuina.

'Shhh, don't worry. Just focus on staying conscious alright? Can you promise me that?' The sensei asked as he stared at the figure with a threatening look on his face while it laughed maniacally.

Zoro nodded slowly as Koshiro glanced back at him, smiling slightly. 'That's my student...' The sensei carefully lied Zoro down on his side standing between him and the figure.

The green haired swordsman watched as his sensei put down the sheaths and picked up one of the plain swords from the ground, beginning to walk towards the figure. As he got further away and closer to the shadow... Zoro realized how strong Koshiro looked. He was so confident and calm, as if he knew that he would win... He was definitely Kuina's father.

"So you want to die first?" The shadow sneered as he finally stopped laughing. Koshiro turned the sword so the sharp edge was angled at its neck as he lunged forwards towards the demon slashing at an incredible speed. The figure barley jumped back in time to dodge it as two spikes came out of its body again and shot out at the sensei who skillfully dodged both of them.

Suddenly, Koshiro let go of the sword with one of his hands grabbing onto one of the spikes as tightly as he could. 'Seal!' The sensei chanted as strange black marks came out of his kimono in a lightning pattern and slid onto the figure's body. The shadow widened its eyes quickly detaching the spike from its body before the markings could go on to its body.

"So you're the exorcist huh...? And a powerful one too... How annoying." The figure muttered as his smile dropped slightly. A flurry of spikes came out of its body and plunged towards Koshiro at an amazing speed, each trying to stab or cut him.

Koshiro narrowed his eyes as he placed his hand back on the katana along with the other one diving into the spikes. He skillfully dodges and blocked each strike with grace as if he was a leaf swaying in the wind. He streamed his way through the attack until he was right in front of the enemy. 'One sword style... Streaming Leaf Dance!'

Zoro widened his eyes at the attack in amazement. His sensei was so cool... He was able to dodge all of those spikes without getting even one scratch. Not only that, but he could do it while barley being able to see those spikes coming at him.

Koshiro took one of his hands off the katana again and grabbed the figure's head as tightly as he could so it wouldn't get free. 'Seal!' The sensei chanted for a second time. As the black markings started to come out of Koshiro's kimono a spike shot out of the demon and towards the sensei's neck but it froze when it was only inches away.

"Damn you! I can't move!" The demon yelled in frustration seeing black marks starting to envelop its body. To be bested by a human was humiliating... If it wasn't for the powerful seal the shadow could have easily stabbed right through Koshiro's neck... Just one second later and it could have finally taken over.

'We won't be seeing you again any time soon.' The sensei said coldly watching the lightning pattern marks cover the demon's body. The sickening grin sprawled across its face again as the darkness around them started to fade.

"You're right... Your power is too strong for me to break right now. But it won't hold forever... And when this seal starts to fade... I'll be back, even stronger then I am now. When that time comes I WILL become the ruler!" The demon shouted until all the darkness was gone.

….

When all the darkness faded away, Koshiro and Zoro where back in the room they started in. The seal on the floor was completely gone, the white and black candles where reduced to puddles of wax.

The sensei suddenly started to pant heavily as sweat formed on his forehead and started to drip on the floor. He fell down to his knees leaning over and trying to catch his breath. "I guess the years are catching up to me..." He chuckled to himself quietly before quickly turning around to see Zoro lying on the ground, blood still pooling around him.

"You... did it... sensei... So c-cool...!" The green haired swordsman smiled slightly as his eyes slowly closed, finally letting himself lose consciousness.

"You did well." Koshiro whispered forcing himself to his feet as he picked up his student. 'It's amazing that he was really able to stay conscious throughout all that... He must have a lot of willpower.' The sensei thought to himself as he quickly left the room.

Thankfully, the doctors that came to take care of Kuina where still on the island. They were going to leave the next day and where sleeping inside another room in the dojo. It was a good thing that Koshiro had predicted something like that would happen. He had set up the sealing close to doctors in case someone would get injured. There was no such thing as being too careful anymore, Koshiro wasn't going to let another one of his students die no matter what.

Koshiro walked quickly down the dojo's hallway until he reached another room with a sliding door knocking on it loudly. "This boy needs medical attention! Please help him." The sensei said loudly while keeping a calm tone of voice.

One of the doctors slid open the door seeing the small green haired boy in Koshiro's arms. They both noticed that the boy was breathing rather heavily. In addition to that, they saw the blood dripping from Zoro's shoulder and stomach along with his pale, pain written face. "Quick! Bring him inside!" The doctor said running back into his room and laying out a white blanket while putting on his gloves. The other doctor saw the boy as well putting his gloves on and picking up his case of medical equipment, kneeling down next to the little swordsman.

"This looks serious." The doctor said starting to clean to two injuries as the other doctor took out stitches. They quickly stitched the two injuries closed grabbing a white bandage and wrapping it around the small boy's torso. Throughout the long procedure Koshiro watched unmoving with a slight undertone of worry in his expression until they were finally done after what felt like forever.

"His life is no longer in danger." The doctor said in a bit of a relieved tone. "He'll just need some rest now... I'll go get the pain killers." He stated getting up and searching through his bag. The other doctor looked at Koshiro a bit questionably while peeling off his blood stained gloves carefully.

"How did this happen?" The doctor asked placing his gloves into the garbage at the corner of the room. Koshiro gave the doctor a calm smile thinking quickly for an excuse.

"The boy went berry picking in a nearby forest and a bear attacked him." The sensei stated keeping the same look on his face, making him impossible to read.

Both doctors paused for a moment and looked at the sensei strangely before sighing. "A bear did all this?" One of the doctors said doubtfully as he brought the needle over to Zoro, pushing the liquid into his arm.

"Yes, a bear." Koshiro stated again keeping the same horrible cover up story. There was another long pause as the doctors both gave up on trying to question him.

"If I didn't know you so well I'd be a little more skeptical." The doctor laughed taking off his pair of gloves and throwing them into the trash where the other doctor threw his.

"We have known each other for quite a while now haven't we? Since I started this dojo." The sensei's smile widened slightly until he heard quiet grunting noises coming from the green haired swordsman.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes as his vision adjusted to the light, looking around to see the two doctors along with Koshiro. "Where am I...?" He asked a bit confused. "Damn... I don't feel so good..." The little swordsman muttered feeling the dull pain throughout his body.

The doctors chuckled a bit feeling happy to see their patient conscious again. "You're in our room." One of them answered kindly.

"That's what happens when you get injuries as serious as yours. Don't worry though, you'll be making a speedy recovery." The other one said confidently.

"Could you maybe leave me and Zoro alone for a moment?" Koshiro asked kindly with the urgency to tell his student something of grave importance as soon as he could. The doctors both glanced at each other nodding quietly as they walked out of the room, closing the door tightly behind them. They made sure to stay close in case anything happened to their patient, but far enough so they couldn't hear the conversation that was going on inside the room.

"What's wrong sensei?" Zoro asked tiredly. He was unable to think of something his sensei could possibly tell him since the swordsman's demon had been sealed away and his mind was too clouded from exhaustion to search for an answer too.

"Listen to me closely Zoro. That seal I put on your demon will not last forever. It will start to fade over time and eventually that demon is going to be back." Koshiro started to explain watching the student's peaceful expression suddenly turn sorrowful. Despite the look on Zoro's face, Koshiro had to tell him the absolute truth.

"Not only that, but the demon will end up more powerful than before as it develops over the years and becomes strong enough to break my seal. However, you will also become stronger over that time period..." The sensei explained as Zoro narrowed his eyes trying to understand what Koshiro was trying to get at.

"So... You will have to become stronger than your demon and be able to control it yourself when that time comes." The sensei said with confidence as if he knew that his student could do it without a doubt in his mind.

"Control it myself? Is that even possible?" Zoro asked dreadfully as he shifted his gaze away from Koshiro. His sensei sounded too confident in him, but the green haired swordsman couldn't even imagine being able to control his demon alone.

"I'm sure it is... But... If you absolutely cannot control it on your own..." Koshiro started to say before he paused dreading telling his student about such a place. However, it was necessary. Zoro would leave the dojo eventually, so he needed a backup plan.

"Shima doko akuma-ō doeru." The sensei said suddenly as Zoro's face twisted up in confusion. "The island where the demon king dwells... It is an island on the Grand Line full of demons. Not many people know about this island and even if they did there is little to no information about exactly what's on that island." Koshiro explained pausing to make sure Zoro understood everything he said.

"The Grand Line?" The green haired swordsman questioned quietly to himself remembering other students mentioning some rumours about that sea. He paused for a moment trying to imagine what kind of island it would be. "Why... is there no information about it?" Zoro asked curiously looking back up at his sensei for an answer through heavy eyes.

"It's because... Only 2 humans have ever made it back from that place alive." Koshiro saw his student's eyes shoot open in shock hearing that news, he could tell that Zoro was paying extra close attention after he said that.

"Because of that risk, going to that island is a last resort! Many strong people have gone there before trying to capture demons but only ended up dying... Humans have such a low chance of surviving on that island, especially someone who's a half demon like you. Your chances are significantly worse than a human's." Koshiro stressed, taking very slowly and clearly to make sure his student would remember his words.

"That's why going to that island is only a last resort. However, if you know that you would end up losing your sanity completely there is somebody on the island that can help you." The sensei said thinking back to remember everything he knew about that island.

"Who is it?" Zoro asked sitting up slightly in suspense only to be met with a shot of pain. Despite that, he stayed in that position and waited in the heavy silence for his sensei to answer, watching as Koshiro closed his eyes gently.

"That will be something for you to find out if you ever need to go there. For now, just heed my warning... If you end up being so desperate that you need to go to that island, make sure that you bring no one else with you." The sensei said firmly looking into his student's eyes, making sure that his gaze wouldn't break away.

"At that place, there is a very high chance those nakama will die and if they are close to you... Then you will become consumed by the demon right there and then. There will be nothing left of you." Koshiro stated emotionlessly knowing that so much information and pressure to put on him all at once was a bit cruel.

"Why sensei? How do you know for sure?" Zoro asked innocently trying to make the island not sound as dangerous. He wanted that island to be some sort of reassurance in case the demon ended up stronger then him. However, knowing its existence just ended up putting more pressure on the little swordsman.

"There is a reason why there are so many demons there." He paused for a moment again gathering his thoughts as he took a deep breath. "The demon king, the man that can help you, lives in the centre of the island. His overwhelming demonic energy attracts many demons to go there and could end up bringing out the demon inside of you." Koshiro explained as he adjusted his glasses.

"It shouldn't be a problem though unless there begins to be frailty in your heart, like what would occur if a friend would die in front of you. With that influence the demon will take over even quicker than before making it impossible to stop." The sensei finally finished his explanation reaching into his kimono and pulling out a strange looking snow globe shaped item with a compass needle in the middle.

He handed it to the injured student as Zoro slowly raised his arm, grasping it tightly and tilting it around to get a good look. "What is this?" The green haired swordsman asked seeing 'island of demons' written on the side.

"All you have to know is that it will always point to the island no matter where you are in the world. Just follow it and you will get there." Koshiro stated tapping on the glass where the red side was pointing.

"That's enough talk for now. It will be a long time until anything like that happens... so get some rest." The sensei smiled walking around Zoro and towards the sliding door.

"Wait sensei..." The green haired swordsman said before Koshiro could walk out the door. The sensei stopped glancing back at his injured student to show he was listening. Suddenly, a big goofy grin sprawled across Zoro's face as he chuckled lightly. "Thank you for saving me." The little swordsman stated.

Koshiro's eyes widened slightly in surprise until a small smile took over his expression. It was true, Zoro's sensei had saved him in every way. He gave Zoro a place to stay, pulled him out of despair, sealed his demon and trained him so he could fulfill his goal. The green haired swordsman owed that man a lot.

"That's what family is for." Koshiro said quietly sliding open the door and leaving without another word. Zoro's smile lingered a bit longer until he lied back in his bed holding up the strange object his sensei had given him. Everything was going to be fine... or so Zoro thought. All he had to do was become strong enough to defeat his inner demon... So how did things end up the way they were...?

...

"After my injuries healed I just continued to train in the dojo trying to forget what I did and become strong enough to keep my promise to Kuina. Also, I wanted to be able to control my demon when the time came for it try taking over again. But... I've failed in doing both of those things..." Zoro said quietly finally finishing his story. He lightly placed his hand on the straw hat over his face lifting it off and glancing at the cook.

Sanji waited for Zoro to stop speaking and for the room to be shrouded in silence once again. There was a long pause before Sanji took a deep breath trying to shake off the story and act normally. "I see... That explained a lot..." The cook said quietly trying to brush off the guilt he felt for making Zoro go through everything again.

Despite his guilt, Sanji wasn't lying when he said the swordsman's story explained a lot. It explained why Zoro was acting the way he did from the very beginning and a lot about how he stayed in control for that long. "I'll keep my promise to you and tell the others as little as I can. When I do that I guess we'll decide what to do next." The cook stated scratching his head.

Zoro took a deep breath and looked at the cook a little more carefully. He could tell that something was off about his nakama ever since he had started his story. Zoro could tell that there was guilt eating away at Sanji after asking to hear about his past.

The swordsman took a deep breath loathing the pity as he roughly spoke up. "Oi cook, the past is the past. We've all had our fair share of hard times." Zoro stated, still sounding shaken up from saying everything out loud. However, the swordsman pushed his feelings away as he continued to stare at Sanji with an unwavering strong gaze. Zoro had tried to convince himself of that a long time ago but he never could, and it was even making his rival worry.

The cook saw what his nakama was doing and quickly kicked himself out of the guilt shooting back to his original personality. "Past or not, you answered almost all of our questions. Except for one." The cook thought taking a cigarette and placing it in his mouth.

"We still don't know what Yusuke's goal is." Sanji stated lighting up the cigarette and taking a deep breath to get rid of the tension he was feeling. Zoro watched the cigarette light up as the smoke blew and scattered around the room. He then gently placed the straw hat down on his chest turning back to look at the ceiling.

"About that... I know what he is planning. He told me during our last fight with him..." Zoro said quietly as he scratched his head. Sanji jolted up and almost swallowed his cigarette in surprise at what the swordsman said. His eyes shot open wide as he listened carefully trying to make sure he heard the marimo right.

"You... You know his plan?" Sanji asked slowly leaning forward in his seat as he narrowed his eyes at the swordsman. Zoro slowly nodded swallowing hard as he gritting his teeth together.

"Yusuke... hates humans for some reason. He's planning to use me to whip out all of humanity. He's gonna start with the east blue since it's the weakest sea." The swordsman explained dryly. Sanji's eyes shot open again as he sat on the couch frozen in shock.

"Yusuke really thinks he only needs three people to pull off something like that….? If he's really that strong then why does he need you?" The cook asked jetting up to his feet in disbelief as he took a step closer to Zoro.

"He said he wanted to make me suffer. Something about mixing the blood of a demon with a human's makes Yusuke hate me even more." The swordsman said taking another deep breath. "That... And I guess a mindless, bloodthirsty monster would be a good addition to an army that's out just to murder people." Zoro let out an pitiful and dry chuckle full of regret, truthfully not finding the situation amusing in the slightest.

Before Sanji could say something, Nami swung open the door and bursted into the room as she tried to control her emotions after hearing everything that was said. She quickly walked over to the green haired swordsman and roughly handed him his room temperature soup which had gotten a bit cold after Nami had held it outside their door in the open for so long. She wanted to be kind and show Zoro sympathy after hearing his tragic past but knew Zoro would never take that kind of treatment from anybody.

"N-Nami?" The swordsman rose his voice a bit in surprise. "How long have you been outside for?" He asked wondering how much she heard from outside the door.

Nami glanced at her nakama before lying to spare his feelings. "Not long." She said a bit too quickly. Zoro sounded so broken when he was telling the story, to know that two people heard the swordsman that way would surely make him unhappy.

Zoro looked at Nami a bit strangely before his hunger took over him as he slowly sat up in the bed and dug into the huge bowl of soup. He quickly ate all of the contents inside of the bowl and closed his eyes in relief when he was done, finally feeling full after so long.

"How was it?" The navigator smiled proudly watching her nakama look so satisfied with the meal she made. Nami took the bowl out of Zoro's hands and waited for an answer as he slowly lied back down.

"You're not a very good cook." The green haired swordsman answered bluntly with a tired look on his face. Nami's smile dropped to an annoyed frown as she clenched her fist and hit Zoro on the top of the head. The swordsman groaned in pain as he grabbed the lump on his head shooting an annoyed look at Nami.

"What was that for?" The swordsman muttered quietly in annoyance as Nami's teeth turned razor sharp and she clenched her fist tighter.

"You ungrateful asshole!" Nami practically yelled at the top of her lungs about to storm out of the room until Sanji stopped her, trying to calm his navigator down first.

"Don't listen to that shitty swordsman Nami-san! He's just too much of an idiot to understand what good food tastes like!" The cook insured as Nami slowly unclenched her fist, still having the same pissed off look on her face.

"Sanji... Come outside." The navigator demanded forcefully as she stomped out the door. Sanji's eyes lit up into hearts as he spun out of the room after Nami not questioning a thing.

"Of course Nami my sweet!" The cook sung as he took one of his arms out of the sling around his neck grabbing the door to close it behind him. "You get some rest marimo." Sanji muttered before closing to door with a bang. He slipped his arm back into the sling taking a couple steps away from the door so Zoro couldn't hear them talking.

...

The green haired swordsman let out a small sigh as the pain on his head was finally starting to numb. Zoro took his hands off of his head as he stared at his palm, still able to see Kuina's blood on it. He had told Sanji everything that had happened and relived everything that he had wished to forget. The swordsman clenched his fist and turned away as he locked his gaze on the wall beside him, unable to look at the blood on his hand any longer. "The past is the past..." He whispered to himself again, closing his eyes tightly.

...

Nami pulled the cook off to the side up against a nearby wall lowering her voice so that nobody would hear her. When Sanji saw the serious look on the navigator's face the hearts in his eyes faded as he became serious as well.

"I heard everything." Nami blurted out right away, unable to keep it in anymore. She looked up at the cook with watery eyes in desperation as she gripped the bowl in her hands tighter. "How did you do it...? How did you stay so calm!?" Nami rose her voice slightly as she shook her head, sucking the tears back up before they could run down her face.

Sanji looked down at the girl sympathetically using a kind and gentle voice to calm her down. "I know you want to help... but at this point there is nothing we can do or say to ease the pain of his past. All we can do now, is to make sure he doesn't experience that same pain in the future." The cook stated seeing that Nami's resolve solidified.

Nami gave Sanji an enthusiastic nod turning around towards the kitchen. "I'll go put this bowl in the sink. Get everyone gathered in the infirmity, tell them that we have new information about what's been happening." She ordered softly, walking away from Sanji.

"Of course Nami-swan!" Sanji cooed spinning away to go find the rest of the crew. 'I love it when Nami-san takes charge!' He thought hurrying to gather everyone. They had to know Yusuke's plan and about what happened to Zoro in the past. The key to saving Zoro's sanity could lie in those two things.

**((Author's note: I want to apologize (again) for the long explanations! I know they can be boring sometimes but I do my best to make them interesting! I'll try to keep them at a minimum ^^ next chapter will be out as soon as possible!))**


	13. Broken

# Broken

**((Author's Note: That awkward moment when you realize that you've been insanely behind when it comes to updating chapters... Haha well I promise I've been trying at least! Thanks for all the support and for sticking by the story! Anyways, I finally wrote the new one! I hope you like it!))**

As Nami instructed, Sanji collected every crew member telling them that they had more information on Zoro's situation. They all gathered in the infirmary around Luffy's bed without question or hesitation waiting in suspense for Sanji to tell them what was so important. Once everybody was in the room, the cook took a step forward and cleared his throat for everybody's attention. "We got Zoro... To tell us what happened in his past." He stated a bit dryly trying to stop his voice from shaking as he was about to tell the sad story to the rest of the crew, a story he knew somebody wouldn't want others to know.

"It... Might hold the key to saving him." Sanji stated as the entire crew perked up, now paying extra attention after what he said. With that statement, the cook explained everything that happened from start to finish. Sanji couldn't keep his promise to Zoro. Every piece of information that the swordsman told him was important and he had to tell everybody everything.

Nami didn't say a word knowing that Sanji didn't keep his promise only due to the fact that every fact was too important. Because of that she only stood quietly in the corner of the room until he was finished, silently regretting that she knew the promise he made.

When silence took over the infirmary a despair written, utterly shocked face was edged on every Straw Hat's expression. "N-no way..." Usopp stuttered in disbelief at what he heard. Zoro had really killed his best friend in the past... The sniper couldn't imagine how that would feel and knew that he wouldn't want anybody to know about it either.

"So he survived this long because Zoro's sensei performed an exorcism... And now the demon has become strong enough to break the weakened seal?" Robin asked thoughtfully as she lightly brought her hand up to her chin. Sanji nodded slightly wondering how that would be relevant to helping Zoro.

"If that's the case... Then why don't we just perform that same exorcism?" Robin questioned folding her arms across her chest as she glanced around at the other Straw Hats around the room for approval of her idea.

"Do the exorcism!? Don't you need to be a highly skilled exorcist for that?" The Usopp asked in disbelief that regular people could actually pull something like that off.

Robin closed her eyes gently pondering what her crew member said before finally reaching her decision. "That may be the case. However, it is worth a try." The archeologist said opening her eyes again with a small smile on her face.

"Sanji, I will need you to give me every detail Zoro told you about the pentagram and exactly how Koshiro sealed the demon away." Robin ordered him kindly planning on using that, along with the information in the book to do it.

"Of course, Robin-chwan!" He yelled excitedly as his legs twirled while he followed behind her. Hopefully the description he had would be enough so they wouldn't have to ask Zoro yet another question about his past. Both Nami and Sanji had trouble just listening to the sound of his voice during the story, he didn't know if they could take it again.

As ordered, he described the pentagram in as much detail as he could along with the way Koshiro performed the seal. While he was talking, Robin was looking thoughtfully at the black book that she now always kept with her and flipped through the pages.

When Sanji finished telling her everything he knew she closed the book and glanced up at everyone. "Alright... That seems simple enough. None of us are actual exorcists so the seal will be very weak. However, it will be enough to buy us the time we need." Robin explained calculating that along with the sensei's seal which had not yet faded completely, they could hold it off for a couple of days. Three maximum.

"Nami. I want you to get the eternal pose from Zoro and start navigating us towards that island. Usopp, I want you to draw the pentagram Sanji described on the ground." Robin ordered planning out everything they needed to do the seal. She needed to do it as soon as possible but knew it would take a while to set up so the archeologist made sure to stay patient.

"Franky and Brook, find as many black candles as you can along with one white candle." She finished as they all nodded and dispersed around the deck to do the job they were given. When everyone left Chopper and Sanji looked at each other with a bit of confusion and disappointment that they didn't get ordered to do anything like the others.

"What about us?" Chopper asked softly with a bit of sadness in his tone as if he got left out of some fun game. At the same time, Luffy pouted at the thought of being bed written finding that just lying there was insanely boring. Robin gave the little reindeer, Luffy and the cook a kind smile as she graciously but her hand on her hip.

"Chopper you have injured people to look after. An amazing doctor like you can't get distracted by simple tasks like these. As for you two..." She started shifting her attention to the two sour-looking injured crew mates before continuing. "You two need some rest."

Chopper blushed dancing around happily because of the comment Robin made, obviously lying that it didn't make him happy. Sanji and Luffy sighed in reluctant content at what the archeologist said knowing that arguing was useless and that it didn't seem like there were any jobs left anyways.

...

Nami walked swiftly across the grassy deck as the sun shone on her face and the wind whipped in her hair. It was such a beautiful day outside which would be better spent sunbathing or drawing maps. Despite that, Nami had stuff that she had to get done and the sooner it was done, the sooner she could sunbathe or do whatever she wanted. Nami really just wanted to get the whole matter over with.

Along with that simple thought on her mind she yanked open to door to the men's barracks where Zoro was supposed to be lying down only to be met with an unexpected collision that caused her to fall over. Nami looked carefully in front of her to see what she ran in to only to be met with the swordsman's gaze who had fallen over from the collision as well, gripping his bandaged torso that had been hit by the navigator. The captain's straw hat had fallen off of Zoro's head and was now dangling from the string around his neck.

"Z-Zoro!?" She raised her voice with a bit of surprise in her tone. The way they bumped into each other made it seem as if Zoro was right about to leave the room before they hit. Nami was surprised he could even stand up already, let alone walk around. "Why where you walking out the door?" Nami questioned almost a bit threateningly, her tone of voice telling the green haired swordsman that he'd better have a good answer.

"A walk..." Zoro responded bluntly with little care for her tone as he slowly let go of his torso when the pain numbed to a bearable level and placed the straw hat back on his head. He swayed a bit when he stood up but once he was on his feet he seemed pretty stable despite the slight look of struggle and concentration from just standing there even though he did try to hide it.

"Go lie back down." Nami ordered him standing back up quickly to block him from walking out the door and onto the deck, ready to even use force if she had to.

"I'm not gonna do anything. I've just been stuck in closed up rooms for too long." Zoro stated truthfully trying to remember the last time he was just able to relax in the sun on the comfortable deck with the sound of birds and the rustling of the grass as it blew in the wind. Just the thought of it relaxes him. It had been too long.

"How do I know you aren't going to go train or something stupid like that?" She asked forcefully, giving him a deadly glare with skeptical eyes. It wouldn't be the first time that the stupid muscle head swordsman had trained when he was injured.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to..." Zoro responded with a defeated, low tone. In the condition he was in he could barely walk, picking up one of those monstrous weights that he could usually be easy to lift would be deadly to him. Even if he tried, the swordsman knew he'd just end up embarrassing himself. "Oh... Was there something you wanted?" The swordsman asked, skillfully changing the subject. Nami had to be outside the door for some reason.

"The eternal pose your sensei gave you... I need it to navigate to that island." The navigator stated without hesitation as she held out her hand and waited for it to be dropped inside. Her eyes glimmered with determination; it was now the Straw Hat crew's time to save their swordsman.

"R-Right..." Zoro said a bit hesitantly as he shifting his gaze around nervously. There was something uneasy about the swordsman in front of her. "You guys shouldn't go on the island. I think I should go alone." The swordsman blurted out quickly, knowing that Nami wouldn't like hearing something like that but he couldn't just ignore his sensei's words either.

"I thought you were going to let us help you." The navigator muttered ready to burst with rage as she clenched the fist that wasn't waiting for the eternal pose to be dropped in it. After all that happened the idiot was still thinking about doing it on his own!?

"I know... But just listen... Only two people have ever come back from that island alive." He warned her, expecting the navigator to shake in fear or have any sort of reaction. She was part of the coward trio after all... but she did not falter... Didn't even bat an eyelash. Nami was done fearing, she was done feeling sorry for him. Nami was going to help her nakama no matter what it took.

"That's doesn't matter. We already know all the dangers of that island but we'll be stronger if we go there together." Nami explained shoving her open hand a little closer to the green haired swordsman, she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Zoro looked into the girl's unwavering eyes for a moment before exhaling loudly. He had to admit she had a point there. His sensei might have said not to bring any nakama, but he couldn't do it without them. Anyways, he didn't know that Zoro would make such strong and reliable friends. With all the Straw Hats fighting together... Nothing could stop them.

"I understand... But..." The swordsman stuttered a bit hating to be so pessimistic, though what he was about to say was reality and she had to know that. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it to the island..."

"Don't worry about that!" Nami claimed almost proudly as if the idea that would allow her nakama to get to the island was hers. "We're gonna recreate that seal your master did!" The navigator explained with a serious tone. There was no way she was kidding. No way she was bluffing. They were really going to do it.

"W-what!?" The swordsman responded with a shocked tone of voice, unable to believe they could pull it off. "But... doing something like that when you aren't an exorcist is dangr-"

"No more buts! We're going to help you Zoro! And there's nothing you can say about it! We're gonna pull this off and get you to that island!" Nami shouted making sure to cut the swordsman off before he could try to talk her out of it as she pointed her finger at him accusingly.

A small smile took over Zoro's expression as he finally gave her one firm nod showing that he agreed with what she said. "Alright... I've kept the eternal pose in a small blue bag inside the treasure chest." He said pointing back inside the room.

"Ok." Nami responded simply stepping to the side to let Zoro out of the room. He was walking so slowly and carefully, she guessed it was the fastest the hurt swordsman could manage after being severely injured so recently. "Remember to take it easy!" She said one more time as Zoro waved her off.

When the swordsman was far enough across the deck Nami spun around and walked in to the men's barracks. She could never get use to how dirty and gross it smelled making her thankful that she didn't room with them.

Ignoring the smell, Nami made her way to the treasure chest and quietly opened it as if there was someone sleeping in the room that she didn't want to wake up even though nobody was there. She carefully rustled through all of the stuff until she came across a small blue bag right at the bottom of everything. Nami yanked it out of the chest and reached in the bag pulling out the small snow globe shaped item.

The 'island of demons' engraving on the side was a bit faded and the glass was full of dust and dirt, it really looked as old as it was. The only thing that really mattered was that it wasn't broken. Even though that fact was quite surprising since it had been crushed by all that stuff for so long.

Nami peered back into the bag seeing that there was still something inside. It seemed like it was a piece of paper. The navigator's mind raced as she tried to guess all the possibilities that the paper could be. She guessed that either Zoro forgot it was in there or he just didn't care if she saw it or not. For the sake of her own conches she went with the second possibility and quickly reached into the bag, grabbing the paper.

When Nami pulled it out she flipped it around so it was no longer upside down revealing a letter written by Zoro's sensei along with a small picture clipped on to the top right corner of the page. When she saw the letter the navigator instantly started to read the contents, saving the picture for last.

'Dear Zoro,

I know that you are not one for sappy goodbyes or touching words however, I wanted to write you this letter anyways. Knowing you, tomorrow when you leave the dojo you're just going to bow and say thank you, so I'm going to get a few words in now. Your dream is a lofty one but I believe in you with all my heart. You've always worked the hardest out of all the students and truly improved. I remember when you first walked in you didn't even know how to swing a sword properly. Anyways, all I wanted to say was you're like a son to me... Please come back to visit when you fulfil your dream. No matter what happens, don't give up hope.

-Koshiro'

Nami's eyes wandered to the top right corner of the page and her smile widened as she saw the picture. There was a small note at the bottom saying 'to keep you going' along with a picture of Kuina and Zoro together. They were both asleep underneath a tree leaning comfortably on each other. The small green haired boy's mouth was wide open with a bit of drool dripping down to his chin. Zoro looked like he was snoring loudly, something he even does now.

She then shifted her attention to the small blue haired girl in the picture. Kuina was silently smiling in her sleep, seeming like she was so comfortable and relaxed next to Zoro. It really showed how close they were to each other.

The navigator let out a small chuckle at the picture and folded the letter up the way it was before she found it slipping it back inside the bag. She then tucked the bag back into the treasure chest and closed it tightly behind her. "He kept that all this time." Nami said to herself. 'That muscle head's so adorable sometimes.' Her smile widened even further when she started to think about how much she loved the swordsman's soft side and wished that he showed it more often.

...

Once the navigator passed by the swordsman and shut the door behind her Zoro continued to make his way forwards. Everyone around him seemed to be busy as they all scattered around the deck trying to prepare everything Robin told them to. Zoro wasn't sure what he would do now since he was out of the room. He couldn't nap... Couldn't train... Couldn't drink sake... What was left?

The swordsman sighed as if the lack of things to do defeated him. Zoro knew that he went outside of the barracks in the first place to get some fresh air but some company and a change of scenery was good enough at that point. He slowly dragged his feet to the infirmary pausing in front of the door for a moment as if he was almost nervous to go inside. Zoro tilted the straw hat out of his eyes as he told himself that he was ridiculous and reached for the door, yanking it open.

Three different set of eyes met his as he saw the small reindeer, the pervert and his captain all looking at the direction of the door. The room fell silent as all of them questioned why the swordsman looked as if he felt so out of place when walking into the infirmary. Zoro was acting like he walked into a club he wasn't a part of.

The swordsman shoved his hands in his pockets as he leisurely made his way to Luffy's bedside. "You shouldn't be walking around so soon!" Chopper said worryingly and broke the silence which filled the room beforehand. Zoro gave the small reindeer a warm smile pulling up a chair that was beside the bed and sitting down carefully on it.

"Don't worry doctor. I won't be." The swordsman ensured the small reindeer softly. His smile grew a bit as he saw his nakama blush at being called a doctor. When Chopper finally stopped dancing around Zoro crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably on the chair as if he was waiting for something to happen.

"Zoro! Did ya hear the news!?" Luffy asked happily as his grin sprawled from ear to ear. Even if he tried, the swordsman could never get his smile to be that big and carefree. "We're gonna seal your demon and then kick its ass!" The captain said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Mhmm. Nami told me." Zoro grinned at his captain with a quiet chuckle. The three of them thought it was a bit strange for the swordsman to be smiling and speaking so warmly but none of them wanted to ask. Well... At least most of them didn't want to ask.

"So what got you in such a good mood?" Sanji questioned raising his eyebrow at the swordsman. It was too weird for him. If anyone saw the swordsman acting that happy when there wasn't even any sake around, they would think something was wrong.

"Nothing really..." Zoro claimed as he softly brought his gaze down to the ground now staring at a spot that was suddenly interesting. He couldn't explain it himself. And anything Zoro was thinking he for sure wouldn't say it out loud. Especially not to the cook.

Despite that. The swordsman was... Happy? Relieved? Maybe a mix. He wasn't alone anymore. There was no way to thank his nakama enough for doing everything they could for him. Of course he was worried about their wellbeing. But the only thing they were worried about was his wellbeing. He had lost control so many times that he's lost count. However everyone was still alive and doing everything in their power to help. Didn't even think of abandoning him for a moment. That... He couldn't thank them enough for.

"If you're acting that way to thank us or something then cut it out... It's freaking creepy." The cook said bluntly causing Zoro to scowl at him. When he got that threatening look, Sanji smiled widely and nodded. "That's better marimo!"

The swordsman widened his eyes for a moment and blushed slightly at the cook's embarrassing comment. How did he get it so damn fast? Maybe he was getting that weird ability Luffy had to read his mind... The swordsman's embarrassment clouded his thoughts as Zoro whipped his head away so Sanji wouldn't see, the corners of his mouth rising ever so slightly.

After that, the four of them talked for a few hours until the sun set and night came. It became late and one by one they all went to bed. Chopper going first then Sanji until Zoro and Luffy were alone.

Finally, his captain's eyes started to get heavy as he fell asleep with Zoro next to him. The swordsman carefully got up from his chair and quietly took a couple steps towards the sleeping raven haired boy. Zoro slowly reached up to his head and grabbed the Straw Hat which he still had on. The swordsman then gently placed it on his captain's head smiling slightly at Luffy who was snoring quietly. "Thanks captain, but this hat suits you a lot more." Zoro whispered quietly as he shut off the lights in the infirmary and walked out the door.

Zoro strolled slowly away from the infirmary now pretty balanced on his feet. He wasn't swaying anymore and he was even able to pick up the pace a bit as he headed over to the railing of the ship. The swordsman let out a long, slow breath of air as he leaned on the railing and looked down at the ocean. He could see the moon's reflection in the water along with the stars surrounding it as the sound of gentle waves hitting the side of the deck filled the night sky.

"Having trouble sleeping?" A quiet, kind voice took over the sound of the waves as long strands of raven coloured hair made its way in Zoro peripheral vision. He turned his head calmly to see Robin smiling at him with a coffee in one of her hands that Sanji must have made her before going to bed.

"I guess." Zoro responded with a mutter. There was no reason to tell her that he can't sleep since his demon would be sealed after just one more sleepless night. He tried to perk up and open his eyes more so he didn't look so tired in front of the archeologist as silence fell on the both of them. The sound of waves taking over their senses once again. The silence wasn't awkward or heavy either. They were just simply enjoying each other's company.

After a while, Robin lifted the black book in her hands and flipped through until she found the chapter about sealing. The raven haired girl started scanning the pages until the swordsman next to her spoke up out of curiosity. "So that's the book you've been using?" He asked scanning the front cover with almost accusing eyes. 'Shadows...' Zoro thought to himself while reading the title.

Robin nodded softly and shut the book handing it to the swordsman with a smile. Zoro hesitantly took it from her and opened the pages. Everything was there. How he's losing control, the symptoms, the stages and even how to seal it.

When the green haired swordsman finished scanning through the titles of the book he flipped to the inside of the back cover. When he did Zoro's eyes shot open wide as his mouth dropped at the author's name. "Sen...sei..." He said slowly in disbelief as Zoro gripped the book tighter.

"Oh my." Robin said peeking over the green haired swordsman's shoulder to see that 'Koshiro' was written as the author of the book. "I'm sorry Zoro. I haven't finished reading the book so I never read the author's name." The archeologist stated unable to believe that she had owned a book made by Zoro's sensei all this time.

"That's... Alright." The swordsman said, smiling as he read the author's note at the end. 'I've written this book for my student and any nakama that he might have made on his journey. There are copies on all major islands throughout the world so I hope that at least one of the books reached them. If it did then I hope this book helps! And to my student's nakama... Please take care of him, I know he can be a handful!'

Robin chuckled when she read it as well. "Your sensei must have really been worried about you!" She stated with a teasing tone to her voice. Zoro couldn't help but chuckle since he knew what she said was true, though it was embarrassing that he'd put such a message on every book for the whole world to see.

The government must have been pretty mad too. There was a book made about the demons they were trying so hard to keep secret from the world made and put on every major island after all. Guess they couldn't get to them all before some people bought one. Well... that's a revolutionary for you.

Zoro slowly shut the book and handed it back to Robin without another glance. The archeologist took it and thanked the swordsman quietly as she did. Silence fell over the two of them again as the seemingly everlasting night finally came to an end. The sun rose high as the once quiet ship became full of life once again. There wasn't even one cloud in the sky as the sun's morning heat hit the Straw Hats.

Everybody aboard the ship was awake earlier then their usual sleeping schedule. Despite the fact that they were about to do a dangerous seal everybody was happier than they've been for a while. They were going to save Zoro after all. They knew that everything was going to be alright very soon. The sorrowful story was about to end. And a whole new adventure would begin. One they hoped would be a lot happier.

"Looks like it's time, Zoro!" The archeologist said calmly with a hint of happiness in her tone. Zoro turned to her seeing Usopp waving his hands like an idiot obviously to tell her that everything was set up. When the swordsman sighed she smiled kindly at him and started to walk in the direction of one of the many rooms on the Sunny.

Zoro followed a bit hesitantly behind her not quite sure what he was expecting. Could they really pull it off just from a book and a crappy description that he gave them? And even if they were able to get to that place... Wherever or whatever that dark place is... Would he stand a chance against his inner demon?... The swordsman shook his head and stood confidently in front of the door, his eyes narrowed in determination as Robin swung it open. This was it.

The room opened up in front of Zoro as the smell of paint and candle wax lightly brushed his nose. The scene in the room was the exact same as it was when he was a child. The strange pentagram, the black candles placed on every corner of the big star and the white candle placed in the middle of the pentagram. Only this time it wasn't just Zoro and his sensei. All the Straw Hats where gathered and ready to help.

"Are you ready?" Robin asked as she motioned him forwards to step in the middle of the pentagram. The swordsman took a deep breath and started slowly making his way towards the pentagram. He knew that all he had to do was win. If he did that then there would be no need to worry about anyone getting hurt in this... World of shadows.

"He better be ready. Or I'll get him ready with a kick to the face." The cook said sourly. The two shot each other a dirty look as the swordsman finally stepped in the middle of the pentagram. Each Straw Hat picked up a black candle and stood on one of the five points on the big star. Everyone... accept for Sanji. Instead, he removed his arms from the sling and took off the cloth, throwing it to the side. He then stepped in the middle of the pentagram with Zoro and slowly moved around his arms.

"What do you think you're doing...?" The swordsman questioned as the cook bent down and reached for the white candle underneath him. Sanji gave Zoro an annoyed look unable to believe that he had to explain it to him.

"What do you think I'm doing idiot? I'm sealing that damn demon of yours!" The cook said raising his voice slightly with anger in his tone. He stood tall and proud waiting to hear what Zoro's problem was with him. Because of how straight he was standing compared to the hunched over, exhausted swordsman, they were now the same height so Sanji could look directly in his eyes.

"Your arms still aren't completely healed yet moron. How do you expect to fight like that? You should let someone else go with me." The swordsman stated tucking away his worried tone so the cook wouldn't get the idea that he actually cared.

"I can't. I would never let Robin or Nami go alone with you, Usopp and Brook are too scared, Luffy's injured and Chopper's taking care of him while Franky's the one who's gonna be protecting the girls in case anything goes wrong." He explained knowing that the girls would be safer with someone who wasn't hurt. "And besides. My arms feel a lot better." Sanji stated moving them around even more to show that he was alright. "So stop worrying about me you stupid swordsman. It's making me sick."

"I'm not worried about you." He snapped defensively as his cheeks shyly turned a light shade of red. "Fine do what you want. Just don't slow me down." Zoro stated slowly drawing his white katana and holding it up to his finger which he hovered over to middle of the pentagram in front of Sanji.

"That's my line." He stated with a smile as the Straw Hats around him readied their lighters that Franky made all having no doubts in their minds that it would work due to the fact that it was him who built them. When Zoro scanned around the room seeing that they were already he took a deep breath before cutting his finger with the blade.

Just like last time, an intense wave of bloodlust hit him and he clenched the Wado tightly with all his might bringing his other hand up and grasping his chest. The only difference was that this time there was an intense pain that went along with it, just like there was back on the deck. The burning, devouring feel he felt throughout his body was excruciating, even worse than last time. Zoro shouted in pain dropping down to his knees and closing his eyes tightly shut, but the pain didn't last long. It stopped almost as quickly as it started, so the pain did no real damage to Zoro in the end.

When the swordsman's finger was sliced and the blood started to drop all the Straw Hats sprang into action. They lit their candles as quickly as they could despite being worried for the swordsman since it seemed like he was in so much pain. Once they did, the Straw Hats threw away the lighter starting to all say the chant together. "Blood of red give birth to right and seal away this shadow's might. Demons above and below, will hurt both friend and foe. To go into his world is my goal, filling this person with eternal control!"

Sanji then quickly pulled out his own lighter and lit up the white candle in his hand before tucking the lighter back in his pocket and placing both hands on the candle. He then closed his eyes and finished the chant, the rest of his nakama staying silent for this part of the exorcism. "This is my will... So be it may!" He stated raising his voice slightly.

...

Sanji snapped his eyes open and whipped his head around seeing nothing but darkness. The candle in his hand was gone and there was an eerie feel to the place he was in that just couldn't be described. 'I guess it worked then.' He said to himself starting to run forwards hoping that he would find the demon he was supposed to seal away. 'Oi! Shit head!' He yelled trying to get a response from the swordsman.

The cook picked up the pace when he heard the sound of swords whipping through the wind and clashing into something. "Now this brings back memories!" Sanji heard a cold voice speak through the darkness when he got to the source of the noises. He widened his eyes at the sickening smile and bloodthirsty eyes that where glowing from the shadows. He could see a figure of a body attached to those features if he focused, however he could only see an outline.

'Don't just stand there staring shitty cook!' Zoro shouted causing Sanji's gaze to shift over to him. The first thing the cook noticed was that three quarters of the swordsman's body matched the figure's. Zoro looked as if he was fading into nothing but a shadow. The swordsman's body was black and blended with the darkness behind him, the only thing still showing was his arm.

'What happened to you?' He asked with a bit of panic in his voice but knew that there would be no time to explain. With that question lingering in the air Sanji rushed in after the swordsman spinning around and trying to kick the figure's face. It easily dodged as the three of them jumped back getting distance from each other, both Straw Hats on one side while the shadow stood across from them.

"Yet another person has come in here now!" The demon said excitedly as it slowly licked its lips while examining the cook. Sanji was a pretty skinny looking male, looked more of a gentleman type then the fighting type though the figure knew better then to underestimate him. It had been living with Sanji for as long as Zoro has after all.

The green haired swordsman placed Kuina's katana in his mouth and tightly bit down on it as he walked towards the shadow. 'Zoro! Wait!' Sanji shouted reaching out to grab him but Zoro was already out of reach. He had already picked up the pace and started running toward the shadow, determination burning in his eyes.

'It won't be the same as last time!' The swordsman shouted as he slashed down at the figure in front of him with all his might. However, just like in the past, the demon simply stepped out of the way with a smirk on its face.

"You're weak, Zoro. Nothing ever changes." The figure sneered mockingly as its smirk grew wider. Zoro widened his eyes a bit gripping his katana even tighter. His knuckles turned white as his hands started to shake in anger even though he was desperately trying to control it.

'Don't mock her... Don't you dare mock her...!' Zoro muttered furiously as shadows covered his eyes. He remembered that moment perfectly. The swordsman had lost yet another fight. He remembered looking up at her from the ground as the girl's training sword pointed at him.

With the memory flashing through his head Zoro crossed his katana in front of him. 'Oni... Giri!' The swordsman whipped his swords out at the demon in an X shaped slash towards its chest but the demon jumped in the air over the slashes.

"Just give up and let me slaughter you and your friend over there!" It started to laugh as it floated in the air until Zoro's threatening gaze shifted up to it. The swordsman wasn't even being controlled but his gaze was so cold, his eyes full of anger and hate.

As the shadow focused on Zoro's eyes the swordsman quickly sheathed one of his katana turning the two remaining blades towards the airborne demon. When he did, Zoro jumped up in the air and slashed his katana upwards as he did. 'Tower climb!'

The shadow was about to be hit as it widened its eyes in shock at Zoro's speed and strength not expecting him to be able to keep up with its movements. However, the smile came back to the demon's face and its clam, confident demeanour came back just as quickly as it faded. Before the swordsman's katana could connect, black spikes came out of the darkness bellow Zoro.

The green haired swordsman was barely able to dodge it. The spike just avoided his chest as it stabbed and hooked in to his shoulder. Blood jetted out of the wound as it fell to the ground, disappearing into the shadowy darkness. 'Zoro!' Sanji shouted, too shocked to even try and hide the worry in his tone. The spike then whipped the swordsman to the ground causing Zoro to cough up blood.

He was keeping a lookout for spikes to come out of the demon but never from the darkness around him. The first time he fought the demon he wasn't able to do that. "While you were training and getting stronger you were also making me stronger." It stated with a dark chuckle. "I'm much stronger than I was before!... You two... You think you can seal me!?" Its laughter got loudly echoing around the darkness at an ear piercing volume. "You guys aren't even exorcists! Don't insult me!"

The green haired swordsman used the hand that wasn't pressed on his shoulder to try and cover at least one of his ears while still holding his katana, straining in pain from the ear blasting laugh. Even Sanji who was standing significant further away from the demon than Zoro covered his ears with all his might but the sound was still piercing through.

Despite how loud and menacing the laugh was, the cook took it as an opportunity to dash forwards and catch it off guard. He used his amazing leg strength to leap forwards as it was in the middle of laughing and send a quick but powerful kick to the side of its head. Just like it did with Zoro, the demon only teased him leaning back and watching as the kick swung through the air over it.

"That's enough of that. I'm not interested in playing with you." It chuckled whipping its dark fist around to Sanji. The barely visible attack connected to the cook's stomach with all its strength. The shadow used its inhuman strength along with all its body weight to send the cook flying as Sanji coughed up blood and grunted in pain.

'Cook!' Zoro shouted into the darkness where Sanji was flying as the cook whipped past him. He heard an echoing thud from the darkness but no response from the cook. Nothing but silence and Zoro's heavy breathing could be heard. That, and his quickening heartbeat.

"Woh! He flew far! It's too bad though, there wasn't much blood at all! I wanted to punch right through him... I guess I didn't give the strength of his body enough credit!" It stated laughing. As it said that, the figure could see Zoro's staggering figure slowly making his way to his feet. Even the swordsman was hard to see since most of his body matched the shadow's now.

'I'll kill you...' Zoro said with fire in his tone as he tightened his grip on the katana in his hands. He then placed the Wado back in his mouth and drew his third katana slowly and confidently making his way towards the shadow in front of him once again. This time, the swordsman was focused and calm. He knew he could win. He had to win.

"Oh! So you want me to torture you before your friend!?" It asked excitedly as if it was overjoyed that Zoro was actually going to try and attack again. This time, the shadow sent a barrage of spikes plunging towards the green haired swordsman. Each spike was going at an amazing speed trying to cut or stab the man in front of them.

Zoro narrowed his eyes as he skillfully dodged and blocked each strike with grace as if he was a leaf swaying in the wind. He streamed his way through the attack until he was right in front of the enemy. 'Three sword style... Streaming Wolf Swords!' The swordsman shouted as he slashed his katana towards the shadow in front of him. However, before the swords could connect, the demon's eyes started to glow red. Right after, Zoro's did the same thing right before the darkness on his body started to crawl up his arm.

The swordsman widened his glowing red eyes as he shifted his gaze to the last remaining part of his body that hadn't turned into a shadow. As he did a searing pain hit his entire body as if somebody had thrown him on to the sun. He couldn't hold back his voice for even a minute as Zoro dropped down to his knees letting out a bloodcurdling cry.

The katana in his mouth and hands dropped to the ground with a thud as he clawed at his arm squeezing it tightly to try and stop the pain. However, nothing was working. Zoro's screams continued to fill the darkness around him as the figure laughed at his anguish. It felt as if the swordsman was in another world, his screams drowning out any other noises around him and the pain was too intense to focus.

Loud banging was heard when the figure shifted its gaze down below him where the green haired swordsman was. Zoro was hitting his head repeatedly on the ground with all his might. "That won't work! It may be able to stop me when I'm inside of you but right now that will do nothing to snap you back. You're in your inner world." The shadow explained.

The darkness got to Zoro's elbow when the intensity and volume of the swordsman's screams increased. His face started to turn blue, unable to breathe as he shouted painfully. The swordsman fell off his knees and onto his side rolling onto his back while he tried to gasp for air. His nails dug into his arm as he tried to stay conscious. He would do anything to make the unbearable pain stop. Zoro couldn't take it any longer... He would rather die.

When that thought passed the swordsman's mind a yellow blur passed over him at an incredible speed and made contact with the figure, his foot connecting with its stomach. Before he blasted the thing away Sanji kept his foot in contact with it, shouting as loud as he could. 'Seal!'

Black marks came from his leg and made their way very slowly towards the demon, however these marks looked different from Koshiro's. These marks weren't the lighting pattern that the demon had experienced before. It was shaped more like waves and was much slower, much weaker.

As the marks flowed out of him he felt as if his own life force was as well. His energy draining with each passing moment that he tried to seal the demon. The sudden feeling made Sanji lightheaded as he started to almost slip out of consciousness, the marks where moving too slow, he didn't know if he'd be able to keep it up for the time it took to seal the demon.

Before the marks could reach it, the figure jumped back holding its stomach where it had been kicked. Sanji breathed a bit heavily, holding his stomach as well as he coughed up blood. Noticing that it was now silent and that the demon's eyes had stopped glowing he whipped his head back to Zoro who was motionless on the ground, the colour coming back to his face as he took ragged gasps of air and moaned quietly in pain.

'What did you do to him?' Sanji asked trying to keep a calm, confident tone as he spoke remembering that something like that had happened before. He gave the figure a bit of an angered scowl waiting for it to answer his question while the cook made sure to stay in between Zoro and the shadow.

"I was forcing the seal open! Fun huh!? I wasn't sure who that purple haired guy was at first, but when he gave me the extra power to start doing this it became very useful! I couldn't take the waiting anymore." It stated with glee, overjoyed that the swordsman was now in its world so it didn't have to wait for a weakness to start breaking the seal.

'He was in that much pain... Just from you trying to break the seal...?' The cook muttered more to himself than the demon as he looked back at his nakama who was still trying to pull himself together after the intense pain he felt. Sooner than Sanji expected, the swordsman sat up closing his eyes tightly as he stood to his feet, wobbling a bit.

The first thing the cook noticed as Zoro opened his eyes was that the red colour had faded and that the darkness which covered almost his entire body had slid up to his elbow. 'It looks like... you can't keep that up... if you're in the middle of a fight though.' The swordsman stated breathlessly with a small, confident smirk though his exhausted expression took some of the edge off of it. His voice hoarse and lost from all the screaming.

"Maybe so, but look at yourself. You barley have anything that still belongs to you. The next push will probably be the last... And..." The figure paused chuckling darkly as it held its stomach. The laughter became even louder as it tried to finish the sentence. "You'll experience even greater pain than before. Who knows... You might break as soon as I start!"

'Let's test that out then...' Zoro said quietly refusing to waver for even a second. However, Sanji could tell that the swordsman was terrified. The green haired man was still shaking and sweating from the last time and his voice wasn't nearly as confident as he probably wanted it to sound. Despite all that, the swordsman stared directly into the demon's eyes to show that he was serious.

The figure looked into Zoro's gaze as its smile dropped a bit. It looked uncertain and it wasn't accepting his challenge to doing it again. Sanji gave the shadow a strange, thoughtful look. Why wasn't he? It looked like he could easily take over or kill Zoro that way so why? Was he not able to do it at the moment? The cook shook the thoughts out of his mind. He didn't want to wait and find out the answer.

'Don't be crazy! I'm not letting that happen!' The cook shouted on impulse not even noticing the worry and desperation in his tone that slipped out. Zoro turned to him with a bit of a surprised look, he didn't expect something like that out of the cook. Especially with that tone of voice that he used.

'Thanks swirly brow, I never knew you cared about me so much...' The swordsman said with a mocking smile. The pain seemed to have faded, he wasn't swaying anymore and his voice was back as well. Finally able to find his footing again, Zoro took a step closer to Sanji, both of them never taking their eyes off the demon for even a second.

'I hope he kills you.' The cook said quietly with an annoyed tone. The two of them kept on guard as they took a bit of a pause to collect their thoughts. 'What's the plan?' Sanji asked not expecting that muscle head pile of moss next to him to come up with anything intelligent anyways, so he kept his expectations in the swordsman's answer low.

'If I can hold him still, you can seal him.' The swordsman stated plainly as if it was the most original and creative idea ever. He really couldn't see any other way to seal it, if the figure kept moving out of Sanji's grip before the seal can reach him then they should just stop its movement.

'Are you stupid...? You saw how long it takes to seal it! You won't be able to hold him for long enough! Especially if he starts attacking you while you do!' The cook emphasized in a hushed tone so that the demon couldn't hear what they were planning.

'I won't let go. No matter what!' Zoro said with force in his voice. The two Straw Hats paused and looked at each other for a bit before Sanji finally exhaled. No matter how stupid and stubborn the swordsman was, Sanji believed in him. When he said it like that he knew it was more than just a statement... It was a vow.

'Fine! But I'm holding that to you!' The cook said turning back to the demon who had the smile back from before, the bloodthirsty smile that sprawled from ear to ear. It had been waiting patiently for them to finish their conversation as if it was interested to see what they could do. The figure was just playing with them, it didn't see the two Straw Hats in front of it as a threat.

"Now... What did you two come up with?" It asked curiously though not expecting an answer from the two. They both silently got in to running positions and bolted towards the demon. Zoro went to the left while Sanji went at it from the right. They reach the two sides of the figure and the same time and swung an attack at its sides with all their might. Sanji's foot whipping through the air and Zoro's katana slicing through the air.

However, before the attacks even had a chance to connect, spikes rose from the ground and collided with their attacks. As soon as the two realized they had only hit spikes they both jumped back in synchronization. They were moving as if they had mapped out each movement of their muscles together, almost as if they had telepathy and were communicating where to go. But there was no such thing.

As soon as the two of them stopped sliding back they gave each other a passing glance and bolted in opposite directions. Sanji ran towards the front of the demon while Zoro came in at it from behind. The figure shifted his gaze between the two as they closed in on it, keeping its body facing the same direction.

As soon as it took another glance at Zoro, Sanji used all of his leg strength to leap up in the air and spun down towards the demon. When its gaze and attention shifted back to the cook it's smile widened as Sanji flipped through the air. He brought down the momentum he was carrying on the demon as the cook extended his leg and smashed it towards the figure with all his weight along with it.

The demon jumped back as the kick barley missed it. Sanji's foot collided with the darkness of the ground causing a huge shockwave and gust of wind to pass through everybody around him. If it had been a normal ground then it would have crumbled to pieces at the moment of impact.

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped themselves around the figure's body tightening their grip to a painful level. It slowly turned its head to see the green haired swordsman with a wide, confident smirk on his face holding on tightly to it. 'Looks like it worked.' Zoro said confidently with a mocking tone towards the shadow. 'Flashy attack there, cook.'

'Shut up. I had to make sure he was distracted. You should be pretty damn grateful!' Sanji spat back as he stood up straight once again. His gaze shifted over to the two of them when his eyes widened. The demon that Zoro was latching on to started to make its eyes glow red once again. The cook ran as quickly as he could but he couldn't even reach the demon before the pain hit Zoro.

The swordsman's smile dropped and his glowing red eyes widened as Zoro's entire body shook. His breath caught in his throat as small breathless chocking sounds slipped through his mouth. All the light in Zoro's red eyes faded away as he gave the cook a quick glance using all his remaining strength.

Sanji caught the look and saw the lifelessness in the swordsman's eyes as they shifted towards Sanji. Zoro's expression was full of pure misery, almost as if trying to tell Sanji to run... Or to kill him and end the suffering... His face was that of a man in anguishing pain and desperation. It seemed as if Zoro couldn't even see the cook. His eyes where completely blinded with pain.

Zoro's grip slowly slipped from the demon. The swordsman tried desperately to keep his vow and hold on to it but the pain... was far too intense. It could not be described in any amount of words. Zoro couldn't take it. Not even for a few seconds... He let go... causing yet another promise to be broken.

Soon after, he collapsed to the ground hugging his chest tightly with his arms as his back arched in agony. He kicked his feet out as small, chocked shouts came from the swordsman's mouth which was wide open as he tried to gasp for air but nothing came. Zoro clawed at his arms and back with all his might to try and stop the pain but it only ended up leaving deep gash marks all over his body, as if an animal had attacked him.

The pain had to stop. He couldn't take it. It felt as if each second passing by was a century long. The suffering was even worse than it was before, and back then he didn't believe that was possible. Zoro's face started to turn blue again as his entire body started to go pale. The kicking and back arching stopped as the swordsman slowly lost all the life in him.

His eyes began to roll to the back of his head as blood leaked from the sides of his mouth and his eyes. The swordsman's body started shaking even more intensely and a couple more painful chocking sounds escaped his throat as if he was trying to scream but couldn't.

The shadows crawled up the swordsman's arm even further. It ran past his palm and started to envelop all of his fingers. Just before the last finger was taken over the darkness stopped when Sanji leaped with all his might towards the demon and placed his hand over the figure's chest. 'S-Seal!' He stuttered loudly, sounding shaken up from seeing what was happening to Zoro.

The figure narrowed its eyes at the marks slowly coming from Sanji's arm and making their way towards it. The shadow glanced back to the swordsman behind it who was still shaking and chocking on the ground, the look of suffering and excruciating torture still in his expression. The demon made a quick decision and decided to make its eyes stop glowing as it jumped back to avoid the marks that where only inches away.

When it jumped away Sanji coughed vigorously and kneeled down on one knee. He gasped for air and quickly whipped his head up to see the swordsman who had stopped shaking. Zoro's lifeless body motionlessly laid there as his arms limply fell to the ground beside him with a thud.

The cook weakly scrambled to his feet and made his way over to the swordsman. Just like the demon, Zoro's body blended with the black background, all except for one finger. 'Oi... Marimo.' He forced out quietly, still trying to catch his breath. Just like last time it felt as if his life had been drained away. However, Zoro was the cook's priority at the moment. 'Marimo!' Sanji shouted a bit louder as he shook the swordsman lightly.

When there was still no response the cook's heart started to beat faster. His eyes were wild with desperation as he shook Zoro vigorously. 'ZORO!' The cook yelled at the top of his lungs… Still no response. The swordsman's weak, pale body simply shook along with Sanji's force as his empty, lifeless eyes stared into oblivion.

"Looks like he couldn't handle the pain after all!" The demon said excitedly as its cold, dark laughter filled the silent air.

**((Author's Note: That was a decently long one! I guess I haven't been consecutive with my chapter lengths either lately. Well, as long as you guys are still enjoying it! Keep leaving reviews to let me know! Chapter 14 will come out as soon as possible!))**


	14. Failure

# Failure

**((Author's note: Wow I'm actually almost done this story! Never thought I'd finish lol! A big thanks for everyone's support! I couldn't have gotten this far without you!))**

As the demon's laugh rung in the cook's ears the darkness around him started to fade. 'N-No...' Sanji whispered as he widened his eyes seeing they were being forced out of Zoro's inner world. 'Wake up you idiot!' The cook shouted, resorting to a pleading tone as if begging the swordsman to open his eyes.

'What about your dream!? What about Kuina!? You promised her you'd be the world's greatest swordsman! You promised Luffy that you'd never lose again!' Sanji leaned over the swordsman, clenching his pants tightly and squeezing his eyes shut when Zoro still didn't respond.

"Don't cry quite yet!" The figure said amusingly behind them as he pointed at the lifeless swordsman. "The last part of breaking the seal's a little tricky! So you have about an hour to say your goodbyes to this life..." Its bloodthirsty smirk spread from ear to ear as it chuckled before speaking. "Because when he wakes up I'll be the ruler! And I'll kill every last one of you slowly and painfully!"

...

With that, the shadow disappeared. Zoro and Sanji where back in the middle of the pentagram. The Straw Hat's gazes were so intense it felt as if they were burning through the cook. "What happened...?" Nami asked quietly, knowing that the atmosphere was too thick for them to have won.

She took a step around Sanji to see Zoro, widening her eyes and bringing her hand up to her mouth when the navigator saw his lifeless eyes. "ZORO!" She shrieked loudly when she dropped her hand from her mouth clenching her chest which had started throbbing suddenly. The other Straw Hats ran over to see their swordsman gazing at his unmoving body as the light in all of their eyes faded.

"Impossible..." Usopp whispered slowly approaching his nakama and dropping down to his knees. "This... This isn't funny anymore Zoro." He said with a fake, amused smile as he reached over and shook him lightly. "I said to cut it out Zoro! The joke's over!" The sniper started shouting, shaking Zoro ever harder as panic started to take over his voice when the swordsman still wouldn't respond.

Sanji's heart beat quickened as he placed one of his hand on Usopp's shoulder. The sniper froze and stopped shaking Zoro, staring at him in horror as tears started to drop down his cheeks. Sanji then put his other hand over Zoro's empty eyes, pushing the swordsman's eyelids down. "Ch-Chopper... Someone get him... Get Chopper...!" The cook muttered as his entire body shook.

Without even a second to spare Robin bolted out of the room and into the pouring rain as quickly as her feet could carry her. She bursted in to the infirmary soaked from head to toe where she found Chopper sitting with Luffy, checking his vitals. "Chopper! Come quick!" The girl exclaimed as lightning crashed behind her. Robin was using a rare panicked voice, one that the Straw Hats thought they would never hear out of the archeologist.

The reindeer saw the gravity of the situation just by the expression on Robin's face as he immediately dropped what he was doing and ran towards the door. "Robin what happened!?" Luffy asked, giving her a serious and worried look. She let Chopper run out ahead of her stopping next to the door. Robin wished that she didn't have to tell the news to her captain but she couldn't keep him in the dark either.

"It's Zoro..." She started grimly, causing her captain to lean forwards as he stared her down. "He's not moving." Robin said dryly, really having no other information to go on. The archaeologist didn't even have to turn around to know that her captain was making a devastated and worried expression.

"Why... Why are you lying to me Robin...?" Luffy asked as his hat tilted down over his eyes when he dropped his head. "WHY ARE YOU IMPLYING TO ME THAT HE'S DEAD OR SOMETHING!?" Luffy shouted with tears in his eyes as his voice cracked. He grabbed the side of the bed with all his might and unsteadily slung his feet over the side, placing them down on the floor.

"I didn't...-" Robin was about to say before cutting herself off and dropping her gaze to the ground. She wasn't able to insure anything at the moment though she didn't know how he would have died. Throughout the exorcism the archeologist could only see new wounds suddenly appearing on the two boys but nothing more.

"That's impossible! Zoro can't die! He has a dream he still had to accomplish! He's too strong to die!" The captain shouted angrily though Robin knew that it wasn't directed towards her. When the archeologist heard an unsteady footstep she turned around to see that her captain was out of the bed and walking towards the door. He yanked out the IV cored and dropped it on the floor continuing to slowly move forwards.

"Captain you shouldn't be out of bed." Robin stated as she forced herself to bring the calm tone back to her voice hoping that it would help calm Luffy down, though it obviously wasn't going to work. How would it after giving the captain such news?

"Out of my way... I'm going to see Zoro." Luffy stated firmly as he stood his ground in front of the archeologist. Robin looked at him for a bit before finally accepting his orders knowing that there would be no way he was gonna lye back down.

"Captain's orders." The archeologist stated softly as she put Luffy's arm over her shoulder to help him walk as they trudged out in the rain, going as fast as they could go with Luffy's condition. Before long, they reached the room where all the Straw Hats were. Robin brought her captain around them until he was able to see Zoro's motionless body.

Chopper was already there checking all his vitals with a scared look on his face. Throughout the checkup he never sighed in relief or showed them any sort of sign that their swordsman was even alive.

"Z-Zoro." Luffy muttered as he stumbled off of Robin's shoulder and down to his knees next to the swordsman. "Zoro... Zoro..." He slowly reached his hand out to shake his nakama still getting no response like everyone else.

When the captain got no response he whipped his head over to Sanji who was on his knees next to him. The cook had been quiet ever since they got back, his eyes had been open wide with a horrified and despair written expression on his face as he stared at the ground bellow him. "Sanji! How did this happen!? Why is Zoro like this!?" Luffy asked in a panic as his eyes where wiled with worry.

The other Straw Hats turned to listen to what he had to say wanting to know what happened just like their captain. It was silent for a long while until Sanji finally opened his mouth. "We... Failed." The cook answered quietly though what he said was clear for everyone to hear.

All of the Straw Hat's hearts dropped as a lump formed in all their throats. They really failed. None of them ever thought that it would be possible. After everything that had happened they finally found a way to save him but now that was ruined. There was nothing more they could do.

"W-What...? What do you mean...?" Nami asked in disbelief as if trying to keep the hope still alive by claiming that she misunderstood him. How could some of the most powerful crew members have lost? It was something that nobody could understand.

"What I mean is... We failed... The demon we were supposed to seal was too strong." Sanji admitted as he lowered his head even more. "It was doing something to cause Zoro pain... It was too much for him..." The cook stated raising his gaze to look at the unconscious swordsman in front of him as the chocking sounds and screams from before echoed in his head.

That fact was unimaginable. Something too painful for Zoro to handle... Impossible. Three of them knew about what took place on Thriller Bark. If he could handle that but not this... Just what kind of pain was he feeling?

"I... I should have gone..." Luffy stated quietly more to himself than anyone else as his hat tilted over his eyes once again. The captain's body shook in regret as he dug his fingers in the ground bellow him. Small tears streamed past his straw hat and down his cheeks as he gritted his teeth together in frustration. "Why didn't I go...? I... I... I could have..." He started yet the words just wouldn't come out.

Before anyone could say anything else Chopper interrupted them with his usual professional tone though there was underlining of sadness deep in his voice as he spoke. "He's still alive..." The reindeer stated but his voice was too grim for them to celebrate before hearing the rest of the news. "Though barley... His heart beat is very... Very weak... And his breathing is shallow. Zoro's injuries from Thriller Bark, before all this even happened, hadn't healed yet. But he kept pushing his body and... Well... Zoro reached his breaking point... He won't last long like this." Chopper stated heavily, the air turning thick as lead.

There was a long pause. Everyone refusing to speak and simply letting themselves be engulfed by their own failure until Chopper spoke up again, seeming to be the only one with in his right mind at the moment. As a doctor, he needed to be. "We have to take him to the infirmary quickly. I'll... do everything I can..."

Chopper slowly looked over at Luffy before shifting his gaze back to Zoro. "Luffy, I'm sorry but you'll have to be moved to the men's barracks. Lie down there and get rest." The doctor said in a tone that sounded more like he was asking politely than ordering him to.

"How could I rest when-!" The captain was about to say until he felt a light hand resting on his shoulder. He looked up to see Robin who slowly shook her head, telling him not to argue. She must have been feeling one of the guiltiest out of all of them, since it was her idea in the first place. However, as usual the woman was a master at disguising her emotions. Through her calm expression Luffy could see a small undertone of pain as her eyes watered slightly.

With that, Luffy silently and shakily rose to his feet remaining completely silent as he let Robin help him out the door. He took one more glance back at his swordsman before turning around once again and taking a step into the rain. "I'll leave it to you, Chopper..." Was the last thing they heard their captain say through the loud raindrops before the door shut behind them.

With that, Franky, Nami and Chopper worked together to lift their swordsman up. They kept him as still as possible and made their way quickly but carefully out the door that Luffy had just walked through a minute before. "I'll take care of your injuries right after I take care of Zoro." The reindeer said to Sanji. There was no answer from the cook but Chopper knew that he had heard so he left to the infirmary with the others.

Sanji was still in the same position on the floor as he was when he first got out of the dark world. He curled his fingers and dragged them along the ground with all his might as he tightly closed his eyes. "Sanji-san..." The skeleton whispered softly, reaching for the cook to try and comfort him only for his wrist to be grabbed by Usopp.

The sniper slowly shook his head to tell Brook that they'd better leave Sanji alone for a while. Usopp knew that the cook would never want to show weakness in front of anybody. He was a lot like Zoro in that way... The sniper knew that leaving him alone was the best thing for them to do.

The two exchanged a sorrowful look of understanding before silently heading out the door just like the other Straw Hats had done before, leaving the cook alone in the empty room.

There was a looming silence over the cook before he clenched his fists together tightly and hit the ground with as much force as he could without hurting his still healing arm. "Damn it!" He shouted into the empty air as his own voice rung in his ears. "I'm a failure... A damn... shitty failure..." Sanji said as he lowered his voice to a mutter scrambling for his pocket to pull out a cigarette.

He placed it roughly in his mouth and shook a little while trying to light up the cigarette. After two flicks of the flame still not coming out he yanked the tobacco out of his mouth and tossed it angrily to the ground. Sanji took a couple of deep breaths as silence sunk into the room yet again, only small raindrops could be heard as they hit against the door. He sat there for a while thinking to himself and before long Sanji lost track of time.

After it had been what felt like 10 minutes or so the cook opened his mouth once again. "I swear..." He whispered to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets and pushed himself to his feet. He felt the exhaustion hit him like a wrecking ball but remained on his feet anyways as he took a small step towards the door. "If you die... I'll never forgive you, marimo..." Sanji said painfully though he was really thinking; 'if you die... I'll never forgive myself.'

What Sanji realized with his time alone was that sitting there and feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to do anything good. Also, he convinced himself that there was still hope after all. Chopper was the greatest doctor ever! If he says he'd to everything he can, then chances are, he'll find a way to save Zoro. Sanji was now more determined than ever. He was going to get Zoro to that island even if he had to swim there with the moss head on his back. However, at that moment, all he had to do was have faith in Chopper's abilities and come up with another strategy. It wasn't over yet. He wouldn't let it end like that.

With determination in his eyes the cook kicked himself back to normal and stomped confidently towards the door. As his energy was returning to him, he picked up the pace almost ending up in a jog before he whipped the infirmary door open. First things first he had to check to see what exactly happened to Zoro and what state he was in...

The last thought made the cook's stomach twist but he ignored it and cautiously strolled into the room up to Chopper. The other Straw Hats that helped carry him in were gone already. Sanji's guess was that there wasn't much they could do other than that in the first place. The little reindeer was staring silently at the swordsman, seemly deep in thought. Chopper didn't even notice that the cook had walked in.

Sanji shifted his gaze to the unconscious swordsman. There were needles in both of his arms, each connecting to a bag with some different liquids in it along with a mask over his face. The cook was so sick of seeing his nakama in the infirmary and he was sure the rest of the Straw Hats felt the same way.

"Oi... Chopper..." The cook said in a very small, gentle whisper to get the reindeer's attention without scaring him. "How's he doing?" Sanji continued even though Chopper didn't react to his first call to him.

The cook could guess what the answer was by just looking at Zoro. The green haired swordsman didn't seem like he was breathing or even alive at all. His skin was pale and there were black bags underneath his eyes. He was completely motionless too, not even twitching or moving a finger. It was as if he was in a coma. However, Sanji knew Chopper isn't magic. He knew that Zoro wouldn't look better after just 10 minutes or less of treatment. So he simply waited for an answer from the professional, keeping his hopes high.

"I don't know..." Chopper whispered in a barely audible tone, you could hear the sorrow in his voice building up the more he talked. "I don't know how to help him... There's... There's nothing I can do, Sanji... I... I tried... B-But..." The reindeer sniffled trying to hold back his tears to remain professional but Chopper just couldn't bring himself to look at Sanji. "Zoro... Is going to die in an hour, if not sooner."

The cook's eyes jetted open widely and his mouth dropped as he stumbled back, he would have fell over if he hadn't caught himself. All what was left of the small glimmer of hope in Sanji was shattered. His eyes faded to emptiness as his body shook slightly. "Zoro... Is going to die... Marimo will be... Dead... He'll... be..." He mouthed to himself shakily.

Sanji quickly stopped himself from shattering as he took a ragged breath, biting his bottom lip and tightly closing his eyes to keep his composure. That was the same time that the demon said he had to 'say his goodbyes' and that Zoro would... 'Wake up' after that amount of time... "Chopper..." He forced out weakly before quickly stopping himself from going any further.

Sanji could only predict that the swordsman's human half would die as the demon takes over completely. Even if the demon would awaken after that time the human side of Zoro would be dead... The demon would be the only thing that would remain. So... Zoro would really die in an hour. There was no way around that fact.

Sanji knew that Chopper was the best doctor he's ever met, if he says there's nothing he can do... Then nothing can be done. Sanji was wrong to hope. He was wrong to put so much weight on Chopper... It was over. There was no way he could swim anywhere in an hour, they couldn't find some miracle to bring him back to life in an hour... It was... over... Zoro was going to die, leaving nothing but the demon behind. The Straw Hats would have to prepare... to kill him.

Sanji decided to wait at least 30 minutes to try and give Chopper time to tell everyone Zoro's condition. Once everyone knew that the swordsman was going to die, he would then, and only then, tell them that they would have to prepare to kill the demon that wakes up after his death... Or... They would have to kill him before the demon could take over at all.

Despite that, Sanji knew that he couldn't break down in front of Chopper. Especially not over a shitty swordsman like Zoro. Instead, he simply placed his hand gently on top of the little reindeer's head feeling his soft fur between his fingers. Sanji opened his mouth to say that he would be fine, he wanted to tell the reindeer that Zoro would be alright like he had before but things were different this time... He couldn't say it.

Sanji just couldn't bring himself to lie about something so important even if it was to spare Chopper's feelings... Even if his feelings would only be spared for 30 minutes. The cook knew that Chopper wasn't an idiot, he was one of the smartest people on the ship despite his child-like innocence. Sanji knew that even if he did lie like that, the reindeer would know better. Chopper was the doctor after all. So... He just stood there in the heavy silence with his hand lightly on top of Chopper's head.

...

Robin and Luffy finally made it to the men's barracks. The archeologist opened the door carefully and helped Luffy inside, laying him on the bed as quickly as she could. Once he was settled on the bed she took a step back with her head hung low, leaning against the wall gently as they stayed in silence.

"R-Robin." Luffy shuddered quietly with a voice that sounded like he was just crying as he took a quick gasp for breath. "He... He won't die... Zoro can't die... R-Right...? Right!?" The captain asked with a panicked tone. Zoro had been injured before... Horribly injured before. He's had his body ripped to shreds, he's almost been cut in half... He's been through so much... But... This time his body had shut down completely.

Robin thought back to the empty look in Zoro's eyes. How all the light in his gaze had faded to nothingness, how his skin was so pale and how he was so motionless, his chest not even visibly moving up and down. She also recognized the look of devastation in their doctor's face as he was examining... Robin could tell... The swordsman... Was going to die.

The archeologist closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, her expression twisted up in pain as she did, hearing the quite sobbing noises coming from the captain across from her. Robin stayed silently listening to Luffy's crying as tears started to stream down her face as well.

...

"Chopper..." Sanji pushed out quietly as he slowly raised his hand off of the reindeer's head once he seemed to have calmed down a bit. "I'll watch over Zoro. You... Should tell the others... I'll let you know if anything happens." The cook stated calmly.

The reindeer thought about what Sanji said for a moment knowing that he couldn't do anything more for Zoro, that and he couldn't bear to look at him any longer. "A-Alright Sanji... But first let me look at your injuries." Chopper muttered as he jumped up on a nearby table waiting for Sanji to sit down.

The cook didn't argue with Chopper even though he didn't think his injuries were very serious and plopped down on the chair tiredly. Despite his 'decent' condition, the doctor wrapped up Sanji's torso tightly and made him another sling to put his arms in when he wasn't using them.

Sanji thought he didn't need the sling anymore since his arms were more or less fine but he knew his overly cautious doctor wouldn't take that, so he just quietly obeyed. The cook tucked his arms back into the sling as Chopper stepped back to make sure he got every injury. When he was satisfied with his work, the little reindeer turned around and walked slowly to the infirmary door. He stepped outside and closed the door gently behind him.

Sanji and Zoro were then alone. Though it felt more like the cook was by himself... Sanji relaxed in the chair and adjusted to get comfortable. He gazed over at the unconscious swordsman heavy heartedly, unable to take the silence any longer he spoke despite knowing that he wouldn't get an answer. "Look at you... Pathetic..." He whispered quietly as his voice seemed to bounce off the walls and come right back to him through the silence.

"Well... I guess we're both kind of pathetic, huh?... We couldn't even seal that shitty demon with both our power combined when your sensei did it pretty much all on his own." He let out a small, sad chuckle. A chuckle with no humour and nothing but emptiness inside of it. "Assuming you were useless as a kid. Which, knowing you, you probably were." Sanji said while giving the unconscious swordsman a cocky, teasing smile.

There was another long silence that filled the room as if Sanji was waiting for Zoro to yell at him... waiting for Zoro to draw his katana and threaten him, spit back an insult or anything like that. However, nothing came. The swordsman still lay there in silence. That fact caused Sanji's smile to drop as he gritted his teeth together. He shoved his face into the palms of his hands and muttered into them quietly, muffling the sound of his voice.

"You ass hole... If this keeps up your gonna make Nami-san and Robin-chan cry again..." Sanji said with a shaking voice. "Why the hell do you have to die...? You fucking idiot... No one asked you to save anyone... No one asked you to sacrifice yourself! If you weren't such an idiot... You wouldn't be in this mess... Cause you wanted to be the hero and save everyone you're gonna die now!" The cook slowly raised his voice as he spoke curling up his hands so that only his eyes were covered and not his mouth while he dug his fingers into his face.

There was yet another pause. Still no response from the swordsman as Sanji's voice became quiet once again. "If... If I would have been stronger... I wouldn't have been knocked out so easily..." The cook stated as the volume of his tone drifted off. He thought back once again to that day, that fight he had thought about countless times after it had happened. He was so useless, he needed to be saved by the damn moss head... And even after saving everyone, Sanji knew that the swordsman was beating himself up over letting everyone get injured.

"If I was... If I was stronger..." The cook continued, taking ragged and loud inhales. "I... I could have sealed that demon quicker... I could have stopped him from..." Sanji's voice drifted to silence, unable to continue his sentence. Saying it out loud was something he just couldn't bear.

...

After Chopper told the other Straw Hats on the deck about Zoro's condition they all broke into tears, shifting their gaze towards the infirmary where they knew the swordsman was still lying. "One... Hour...? Just one hour...?" Usopp shuttered unsure of what to do.

Everything just didn't seem real to him, it seemed like it didn't seem real to anybody. Before Zoro had just been injured. Yes, he was injured badly shifting between life and dead but there was always that hope. There was always that confidence that he would make it out alive and there was always the fact that they had the best doctor throughout the seas. However, this time that same amazing doctor said that Zoro would die... And that there was nothing he could do about it.

Nami dropped down to her knees and onto the wet grass with a splashing sound and started to bawl her eyes out, crying loudly along with the rest of the Straw Hats on the deck. She was talking as if she was so high and mighty beforehand telling Zoro things like 'no matter what they were going to win'. Nami had promised him that nobody would die... Yet the swordsman was now going to die himself. It was so close to being over, never in her wildest imagination did she think they would fail.

Both Franky and Brook hung their heads low as tears streamed down their cheeks. Like everyone else, they were completely shocked. The two of them have both seen Zoro and Sanji fight knowing that they are both a force to be reckoned with. Put them together and they seem unstoppable.

They knew that they were to newest members of the crew and didn't know Zoro for very long... However, he was family. Everyone was family despite the order they joined the crew in. With all of this happening it felt as if that family was being torn apart and a piece taken away.

Chopper stood in front of the Straw Hats quietly, standing there as the rain dropped on his hat and slid off. The wet from the rain blended with his tears when he raised his head so it was facing straight forward and slowly walked by them towards the men's barracks. The reindeer really didn't want to tell everyone about Zoro... He hated seeing the nakama that were so important to him in pain. However, it was his job as a doctor to do so. He couldn't place that burden on anyone else.

So with those ideals, the little doctor opened the door of the men's barracks and stepped inside. The rain dropped from his fur and splashed on to the ground creating a small puddle bellow him as Robin and Luffy looked his way. They waited impatiently with worry in their expression knowing that it was the news about Zoro's health since there was no other reason for Chopper to walk in.

"Zoro will..." The reindeer started when he felt a thick lump form in his throat as tears started to stream faster out of his eyes. He knew telling Luffy would be the hardest part but it was a lot more painful than he thought it would be. Working up his courage, he swallowed the lump in his throat and regained his composure enough to speak even though judging by their expressions, they already knew it wasn't good news. "He's... Going to die in an hour..."

All the light was zapped out of both Robin and Luffy's eyes only leaving a look full of despair and anguish. Both of their hearts dropped, feeling as if they had shattered. Small tears escaped the corners of Robin's eyes as Luffy still remained frozen, staring into nothingness. Zoro... Was going to die. Zoro... His swordsman... His nakama...

Memories of the moment they met flashed through Luffy's mind as he slowly lowered his head. The captain squeezed his eyes shut tightly and gritted his teeth together as tears dropped out of his eyes and on to the blankets that covered his body. "Zoro..." He whispered quietly to himself as his fists curled up with the blankets in their grip.

The rubber man's entire body shook as he took a couple of ragged breaths to force out a voice. "Th...There's... Nothing you can do...? N-Nothing... at all...?" Luffy asked in a barely audible tone as the shadows from his straw hat covered his eyes. There was a bit of a pause until Chopper slowly shook his head.

"But... There has to be something we can do! I'll give you blood! Try giving him some of my blood!" Luffy shouted in desperation as he held his wrist out the small reindeer who only looked at him sympathetically knowing that he was trying to help.

"That wouldn't work..." Chopper responded professionally. Even though there was sorrow in his tone, the reindeer's voice was still clear. "We have plenty of blood to use... You giving more won't change anything."

"Then... Then you can use my organs! Replace some of my organs with his! Can't you do that!? Wouldn't that save him!?" He practically started begging as Luffy raised his head, looking at the reindeer with a pleading gaze. "Even if I would die from it! I don't care!" The captain continued. He truly would to do anything he could to save Zoro. Though that simple thought wasn't enough.

Robin placed his hand gently around Luffy's wrist and pulled his arm back away from Chopper. "He can't do that, Luffy... enough now..." The archeologist said quietly. Luffy shook once again focusing on Chopper's face which now looked 10 times worse than it did before. The doctor's expression looked as if he had been beaten repeatedly and left to die.

"I'm... I'm sorry Luffy... I failed you as the ship's doctor..." Chopper said with a small sniffle. When he did, it hit Luffy that he was hurting the doctor with his begging and immediately stopped, lowering his head once again in silence. "It's my job to heal everyone... It's my job to make sure this doesn't happen!" The little reindeer raised his voice a bit as more tears fell on Chopper's already wet fur.

"This is nobody's fault... Not yours, not Sanji's, not Luffy's... Nobody's." Robin stated, her calm and relaxed voice being forced out. There was a long pause before Chopper turned around and stepped slowly and quietly towards the door. He opened it carefully and shut the door behind him with nothing but a small click.

Time passed in slow motion as the Straw Hats waited in silence... As if waiting for Zoro to take his last breath. Some of them sat in the rain on the deck, others went inside the ship to be alone. Whatever they decided to do, the 30 minutes passed. Though they were already waiting for a seemingly endless amount of time, all of them wished time was moving even slower than it already was.

...

When Sanji noticed that the 30 minutes had passed he slowly raised his head from his hands and looked heavy heartedly at the unconscious swordsman. The swordsman looked even worse than before. He was even more pale, his lips were dry and the black bags under his eyes became darker. There was also sweat all over his body and every time the swordsman tried to inhale Sanji could hear a quiet struggling sound.

Zoro still wasn't moving either. At that point, the cook didn't expect him to. He had been motionless for that long already and it seemed like a miracle wouldn't happen aboard the Straw Hat's ship this time.

After a while, he broke his gaze away from his nakama and slowly stood up lightly stepping towards the door. Sanji gently opened it without a noise as he rubbed his eyes and gave himself a few good smacks on his cheeks. He had to stay composed around the others, if not him then who else would...? Usually that was Zoro's job... and that was vacant at the moment.

The cook quickly shook his head to knock out any remaining thoughts about Zoro and tried to perk up his facial expression. Finding his voice and forcing it to sound somewhat normal, Sanji shouted across the soaked deck. He made sure his voice was loud enough to hear even over the raindrops and in the rooms the other Straw Hats were in. "Gather in the infirmary! It's important!" The cook shouted.

Sanji figured the best location to talk would be the infirmary since they could keep an eye on Zoro while talking. Though he also knew that it would be the hardest location to talk in because of that very same fact. The others were going to walk in and have to see how weak he looked as they talked about... killing him... Sanji couldn't even think about that at the moment. He simply disregarded the fact and waited patiently for the others to show up.

It didn't take long for them all the gather. It wasn't like any of them were doing anything in the first place. Even Luffy came despite his condition thanks to Robin who helped him get there. All of them were drenched from the rain though some wetter than others due to how long they have been in that downpour for.

Once they all squeezed into the infirmary they fell silent and waited for Sanji to speak. Their hearts raced as they wondered what the news could possibly be. What news would be so important that they would all have to gather in the infirmary for?

As they waited their eyes wandered around the room, some not daring to look at Zoro and others unable to break their sorrowful gaze away from him. When Sanji saw their expressions he clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly, preparing himself to speak.

"Zoro... Will die in one hour..." Sanji stated in a barely audible tone as his voice wavered, he couldn't control the tone anymore. Every time he tried to force his voice to sound like its usual self it only shook more and it became harder to get the words out.

"We already knew that Sanji-kun." Nami squeaked out quietly with a bit of a confused tone underneath the heart wrenching sadness. She knew he couldn't have just called them to gather in the infirmary for no reason at all and she, along with the others, assumed he was also told about Zoro's condition and that he knew Chopper told the rest of them. So why was he relaying it to them again?

"To be more precise... his human half will die in one hour..." Sanji said clearly with a heavy factualness to his voice. The Straw Hat's eyes widened at his new clarification knowing exactly what he meant without him needing to say another word. Zoro was going to be taken over by the demon...

"So... That means that Zoro will wake up... As only a demon? As a bloodthirsty killer?" Luffy asked as clarification in his unusual serious voice that he only uses for grim, deathly important times like these. It was a tone of voice that no one was used to hearing and every time their captain used that tone the situation seemed to get even tenser.

Sanji paused for a very short moment of hesitation before slowly nodding his head. He swallowed hard at what he was about to say next as his throat became dry, his heart beating faster. "We... We have to... kill him... Before he wakes up." The cook forced out as all of his nakama took a step away from him.

"Kill him!?" Usopp shouted in disbelief that the cook would ever suggest anything like that. To kill one of their nakama was unthinkable, impossible! Especially when that nakama is in the state that Zoro's in... "How could we do that!? It's Zoro! Remember?" The sniper asked in a bit of a quieter voice.

"It won't be Zoro when he wakes up again. Our Zoro will be dead and his demon will be left trying to kill us. He'll never go back to the way he was... Either way we'd be forced to kill him." Sanji argued emotionlessly knowing that his suggestion was hard to swallow but it had to be done.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Luffy shouted from across the room, the act of simply raising his voice and the thought of killing Zoro caused him to breath a bit heavily. "Sanji... What the hell are you saying!? Do you hear yourself...? Kill Zoro...? Zoro is our nakama!" The captain pleaded unwrapping his arms from Robin's shoulder and taking a few shaky steps towards Sanji.

"Our nakama will be dead! DEAD, Luffy! The only thing that will remain is a bloodthirsty demon that will KILL us!" Sanji stressed on a few words as he rose his voice louder than Luffy's to try to break through his thick skull. The cook knew he was right, there was no other way. So why couldn't Luffy understand that?

Luffy walked a little closer to Sanji and grabbed in collar tightly. Both of them stared each other down angrily though there was despair mixed in with their expressions. Luffy shook the cook a bit and leaned closer as he pleaded his case. "I don't care! You can't just kill him like that! There's still a chance-"

"THERE IS NO CHANCE!" Sanji shouted as loudly as he could, cutting Luffy off before he could even finish what he was about to say. "If there was a chance I wouldn't be suggesting this, Luffy!" The cook said loudly, leaning into the captain's hands that were on his collar.

"Guys... Don't argue..." Usopp said quietly thinking that a scene like that seemed way too familiar for his liking. He took a small step closer to the two of them only for his plead to be ignored by both of his nakama as they continued to fight.

"You don't know if there is a chance or not, Sanji! I won't let you kill Zoro even if I have to fight you myself!" The captain stated tightening his grip on Sanji's collar and pulling the cook towards him.

"We can't do anything in 30 minutes Luffy! The island is too far away, the seal didn't work! It just made things worse! So what are we supposed to do!?" Sanji asked loudly, pushing back against Luffy's hands as he stared him down angrily, waiting for an answer.

"Stop fighting!" Chopper whimpered as he tried to take a step closer. "Both of you are still recovering!" The reindeer warned as he tried to calm the two of them down but to no avail. Just like Usopp, the two nakama ignored Chopper completely and continued their argument.

"We... We'll try the seal again!" Luffy demanded with authority. "This time I'll go! We'll seal it for sure! We just need..." He let go of Sanji's collar and started to stumble towards a cupboard gently opening the door and scrambling inside. "We... We just need..." He tried to say again, not really knowing what the answer to his statement was.

Sanji stomped over to were Luffy was roughly grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him away from the cupboard, slamming the door when his captain's hands were no longer inside of it. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! Have you been listening at all!? The seal only made it worse! It's the reason why he's in this state! Why would we try it again when the demon is even stronger than before!? That would only speed up the process!"

"I DON'T CARE! Zoro's not gonna die!" Luffy yelled back as he shoved Sanji out of the way though it wasn't a very strong push due to his condition. However, it did make the cook take a small step back. The captain squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he shook his head. "You can't give up on him that easily! HOW COULD YOU SUGGEST KILLING YOUR OWN NAKAMA!?"

The Straw Hats jumped back when Sanji clenched his fists and kicked Luffy across the face sending the weak captain tumbling towards the ground from the force. Luffy fell on his side, gripping his chest tightly as he gritted his teeth in pain. "Luffy!" Chopper shouted running over to him quickly and placed his hooves on the rubber man's shoulders, shooting Sanji an accusing glare.

"You think... I WANT to kill him...?" The cook asked in between deep breaths, the look of pure rage still edged on his face. "Just because we argue... Just because we call each other names and fight all the time... Doesn't mean that I don't want to save him!" Sanji shouted loudly. When he felt tears come to his eyes he quickly and tightly shut them, fighting desperately to keep it in.

"He's my nakama too you know... If there was any way to save him... Even if it meant I would die in the process... I would do it in a heartbeat!" Sanji said slowly as he quickly placed his hand over his eyes to cover up the tears. His voice shook and wavered as he spoke, taking a couple of ragged, sharp inhales between sentences. "But... I don't have that option..." He stated as his voice cracked.

The Straw Hats watched Sanji with utterly shocked expressions. They have never seen the cook like that before. He was admitting his feelings for the swordsman, he was admitting that they were nakama and how much he wanted to save him to the rest of the crew. They always knew he felt that way, but for him to say it... While crying over the swordsman too... That was something they never thought would happen.

"We have no choice but to kill him Luffy. Don't you understand that!?" Sanji continued, the entire room falling into a heavy silence as he desperately rubbed his eyes. "When he wakes up... He's going to be a demon! Zoro will be dead!" The cook repeated yet another time, hoping that this time it would actually get through to his captain.

"Don't make him suffer by letting the demon take over! Zoro will know that he attacked us from wherever he will be watching from... He might even kill some of us... That fact will drive him to the very depths of despair! " Sanji stressed as he tried to stay composed but failed miserably. "He's even asked me to kill him before this all happened... I... I told him I'd never do it... B-But now there is no other option." The cook stated as tears rolled down his cheeks and dropped down to the ground. "I have no choice... we have to kill him… even if it will make me a liar..."

Sanji looked like he was in so much pain. The captain's stomach turned as he remembered back to everything he said to Sanji. Luffy realized that he was acting as if the cook didn't care about Zoro. The raven haired boy knew Sanji really cared, he knew all along but Luffy just couldn't accept what he was saying. It infuriated him. Even as he was explaining it.

Luffy sat on the ground looking up at his cook in horror. It was true that killing his nakama was something he just couldn't accept... But... There was also truth in Sanji's words... And the raven haired boy knew that. He knew Sanji was right. He knew that he was saying was right. Luffy knew killing Zoro was the right thing to do. But he couldn't.

"Sanji... I... I... I can't... I just can't... Zoro... Zoro's my... My nakama... I can't kill him!" Luffy stuttered as tears started to flow out of his eyes once again. He tried to whip them away but they kept on being replaced by new tears that he couldn't hold back. He never thought he'd be having an argument about something like this... No one would ever think that they would have to kill their own nakama.

"L...ist...en... t-to... th-the... c...ook..." A barely audible, horsed voice was heard like a silent whisper throughout the room. The Straw Hat's eyes widened in shock as they whipped their heads over to Zoro. He looked even worse than before, none of them knew how it was possible for him to even be conscious.

His heavy-looking eye was barley a crack open but they could see the pain and lifelessness in it from across the room. Just like before, there was no light inside of the eye, as if he was talking while he was still unconscious. "P...ple...ase... k-k...ill... m...e..." Zoro begged through the mask on his face, a bit of blood dropping down his chin as he spoke.

Zoro saw a blurry image of all of his nakama as they bursted into tears. He could also see the blurry blonde as tears streamed down his face along with the others. Sanji was crying too... His sight focused and unfocused as he struggled just to stay conscious. It felt as if someone was pulling his consciousness away. A tug of war that he had no energy to play. However, he couldn't pass out yet. All of his nakama were crying over him... That was something he really didn't want to happen.

In an attempt to stop them from crying Zoro forced a small, sad smile on his face with all of his remaining energy. "I...'m... s-s...orr..." Before he could finish, his consciousness faded as his voice trailed off into silence. His eye closed once again with the fading thought of not being able to keep his promise to Kuina.

With his nakama weeping loudly behind him, Sanji struggled to keep himself together. He cursed under his breath when he thought about how Zoro saw him crying, trying to bring himself some sense of normality but that was impossible. He wasn't worried about that in the least and lying to himself wasn't working either.

"He's going to die soon... If we're going to do it... We have to do it now." Sanji whispered softly as he leaned down and picked up Zoro's white katana which had been leaning against the wall with the other blades. The cook knew it meant a lot to the swordsman and decided that... finishing him off with that weapon would be for the best.

Sanji's hands shook vigorously as he slowly unsheathed the sword. He saw his shaking reflection in the beautiful blade as he gripped it tightly with both hands. "Sanji! Please don't!" Luffy cried, though he didn't try to forcibly stop Sanji like he said he would before. It seemed like Zoro's pleading to be killed made Luffy unable to. That, and the captain knew it had to be done but... for the cook to carry the burden of killing Zoro was a lot of weight... The Straw Hat's didn't know if he'd be able to handle it.

Sanji hesitated for a moment as he looked down at the swordsman's unconscious body one more time. The smile Zoro passed out with was still on his face... Seeing his expression caused Sanji's tears to stream down his cheeks faster. That look on his face... It seemed like the swordsman wanted to die...

Sanji readied the sword above his head but when he tried to move his hands the sword only shook. The Wado remained motionless above the cook's head for a long while, only shaking at times when Sanji tried to bring it down on his nakama.

Maybe he didn't have as much resolve as he thought... Every time he tried to move the katana memories of Zoro would invade his thoughts... And... the cook started to notice that they were fighting with each other in almost every one. However, Sanji enjoyed those moments... Without Zoro... He'd have no one to argue or fight with.

Not only that... But despite their arguments Zoro always had his back. For some strange reason, the two of them trusted each other. They worked together so well in battle when they would actually cooperate with each other too... They were a lot like brothers in that way... Sanji... Would miss Zoro... A lot...

The cook was snapped out of his train of thought when Zoro's expression twisted in agonizing pain. His back arched as he weakly squirmed around on the infirmary bed, too weak to move anymore despite the searing pain. Chocking sounds came from the swordsman along with pained attempts at inhales as no air came into his lungs.

The cook flinched slightly as he looked down at Zoro in horror. He knew that was the last part of the seal breaking... Sanji knew that if he didn't do it quick it would be too late. Yet... Despite knowing that his hands refused to move. The cook could only watch in horror as Zoro squirmed weakly. Not long after, black marks that looked like Sanji's seal patterns appeared on his skin. However the marks on Zoro's body looked more like lightning bolts than waves.

When the black pattern appeared on his skin, Zoro seemed to be in even more pain. His mouth opened as if he wanted to scream but couldn't as blood flooded over his bottom lip and down his chin, just like when Zoro first passed out. More blood streamed out of his eyes like tears as Zoro's entire body shook vigorously and tensed up. It looked almost like he was being electrocuted.

The entire crew was gazing at Zoro with the same look of horror on their expressions. They couldn't bear to see the swordsman like that, especially since he was in that condition. It was so cruel to torture a man who had already been through so much... To torture a man on his deathbed.

Sanji saw how much pain his nakama was in and tightened his grip even more on the white katana. "Stop..." The cook muttered quietly, his grip now so tight that it was painful. "Stop torturing him damn it!" Sanji shouted as he closed his eyes and swinging the katana down towards Zoro's neck.

However, when the creaking of the infirmary doors was heard Sanji froze in place, the katana only inches away from Zoro as his gaze slowly shifted to the door along with the other Straw Hat's.

Through Sanji's tear filled vision he could see a small stream of light that poked out of the clouds as a tall man stood at the doors. The man's shadow was a strange one, it seemed as if there was a huge cross behind him. Also, through the raindrops Sanji could also see the small sliver of light from the sky shining down to reveal a piercing yellow eye.

"So this is where I've been feeling that aura from... I had a feeling it would be from you, however I didn't expect to see this." The man said as his deep, calm voice rung through the small infirmary. The piecing gold eye shifted to the struggling swordsman as he let out a small sigh. "Shadow demons... Are so troublesome."

**((Author's note: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! XD the next one will be out as soon as possible!))**


	15. Fear

# Fear

**((Author's note: It's getting so close to being over! Idk what I'm going to do with my life after this! Only a couple more chapters to go guys! Thanks for reading and sticking with me for so long. Please review and tell me how you're liking the story))**

The man took a step inside of the infirmary, his arms crossed as he stood tall and proud. His appearance was one that some of the Straw Hats would never forget. His strangely shaped facial hair, his purple and black coat with a detailed flower design accompanied by the huge black sword on his back... This was the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk.

Everyone's eyes shot open widely when they saw him step into the room. "Hawkeye Mihawk..." Robin trembled with disbelief. "What is a warlord doing here...?" She continued as if the man in front of her couldn't hear. She couldn't imagine why someone like that would come, especially at a time like this.

Sanji, Luffy and Usopp remembered everything about the man. They all could picture the fight he had with Zoro as if it had happened only a day ago. Their swordsman getting beaten easily and receiving that nearly fatal wound that left a huge scar across his chest.

"What are you doing here...? What do you want...?" Sanji asked harshly though his voice was too shaken up to have any intimidation behind it. He slowly brought the katana in his hands away from Zoro and pointed it at the man in front of him.

"I don't have time to explain myself." Mihawk replied with a certain elegant calmness to his tone. "However, I can tell you this... I am capable of saving Roronoa." He stated clearly. When the Straw Hats were able to process what he said the room fell completely silent, only the small struggling sounds of their swordsman could be heard.

"You... You can save him...?" Nami asked bringing her hand up to her mouth as the tears continued to stream down her face. Everybody was too scared to hope anymore. Every time they said that they would save their swordsman... They failed. So what would make him any different...?

"Why should we trust you?" Sanji snapped at him sharply once again and narrowed his damp eyes at the man, his gaze locking with the piercing yellow ones. Even if he seemed like a decent man back at the Baratie that didn't excuse the fact that he almost killed Zoro in the past. Hawkeye was still an enemy.

"It seems that you have no other choice." He responded simply. "I shall explain everything to you afterwards. However, at the moment you should move out of my way or it will be too late." With that, Hawkeye stepped closer and placed his hand on the blunt side of the katana, pushing down so it wasn't pointed towards him anymore as he walked past the cook.

When he got to the swordsman's side Hawkeye looked down at his pain written expression in silence for a moment. "Dying in such a pathetic way wouldn't suit a man like you." The raven haired swordsman said quietly, hovering his hand over Zoro's head. When the man did, a strange green aura emitted from his hand and went into the swordsman. More of the same strange green flames emitted from his other hand and disappeared into Zoro's three katana.

As soon as all of the green flames had been absorbed, Zoro's expression became peaceful and his body stopped squirming around as well. "It is up to him if he survives now or not." Hawkeye announced, slowly pulling his hand away from Zoro and dropping it down by his side.

Sanji slowly glanced at the now quiet swordsman. He seemed peaceful but... He was too still. Something was seriously wrong. When the cook noticed Zoro's chest wasn't moving up and down he sent a kick flying at Hawkeye who simply leaned to the side to dodge it. "What did you do!? He isn't breathing!" Sanji shouted at him with a worried, restless tone that matched the expression on his face.

"I removed the seal that was keeping his demon's power back." He started to explain but before he could continue Sanji sent another kick at him gripping Zoro's white katana tightly as Hawkeye ducked under the attack.

The rest of the Straw Hats also had a worried expression on their face, both from Hawkeye's words and Sanji's actions. No one tried to stop the cook. However, no one was sure if he was right to attack the man or not.

"You broke the seal!?" He shouted furiously, ready to kill the man in front of him for what he had done. Sanji just couldn't think straight anymore. He was too filled with emotion that assessing the situation and waiting for the man to finish seemed impossible.

However, Hawkeye was patient with the cook. He understood why he was being attacked and simply let out a small breath of air. "Calm yourself." Hawkeye said with a relaxed tone waiting a few moments for Sanji to place his foot back on to the floor. Once he did it, Hawkeye continued his explanation.

"I did not forcefully break it. That is the reason why Roronoa felt no pain. I simply undid it." Hawkeye said, watching the cook and the rest of the Straw Hats carefully in case anybody tried to attack him again.

"Not only that... But I also gave Roronoa's human half as much power as he could handle. It was enough to make him almost as strong as the demon. Right now he is roughly at a 50/50 split between demon and human." The man's gaze shifted from the Straw Hats to Zoro, able to tell just by their expressions that they were no longer going to attack.

Before they could get too overjoyed yet, Hawkeye knew that he had to set them straight from whatever assumptions they may be making. "It is not a guarantee that Roronoa's human half will win. The two halves will now be fighting for control. Whoever wins that battle will be the consciousness that wakes up."

Despite the fact that there was a chance Zoro could survive nobody celebrated. They didn't feel any easier and the heavy weight of uncertainty was still on their shoulders.

After everything that happened nobody dared to believe or get their hopes up. Last time they were so sure they were going to win. They were so sure that they could seal his demon but failed. Now with this new opportunity in front of them they simply waited to see what would happen. Of course they wanted their swordsman to win with every fibre of their being but... They didn't dare to hope.

After a long pause Nami asked the question on everybody's mind. "Why...? Why did you help us? Why are you trying to save him...? I know that you don't have anything to gain by doing this... So... Why...?" She asked bravely, worried that the man would turn against them if the wrong question was asked.

"I knew this man was a half demon ever since I first met him. He looked like a weakling and his sword skills needed work as well. But... after seeing the amount of willpower that he possessed I knew if any half breed would be able to overcome their demon, it would be him." He started, taking a small pause to cross his arms over his chest.

"However, I also knew that he would need my assistance to control it. A man with such ambition and drive doesn't deserve to die in this way. So, I decided that day to help him." Hawkeye explain with a confident tone as if it was an obvious answer.

"You knew he needed your help? How did you know he wouldn't be able to control the demon on his own?" Sanji asked with a bit of an accusing tone. He seemed almost offended that Hawkeye had no faith that Zoro would be able to do it himself. And the man's laughter didn't help settle Sanji's anger.

"You think he could have controlled it on his own? Are you insane!? It would be like asking a man to stop a waterfall with his bare hands. Impossible." He stated, his laughter dying down as quickly as it came and his tone turning back into a serious, calm one. Hawkeye didn't laugh often but he couldn't help himself when he heard people saying such stupidities.

The Straw Hat's hearts dropped at that. Hawkeye said it was impossible for Zoro to have controlled it on his own. They had asked him to do something impossible. He had been beating himself up over being unable to doing something that was impossible. No matter how much strength a person had, no matter how much Zoro had trained it would have been impossible for him to have controlled it on his own.

"How... do you know so much about this...?" Luffy spoke up next, his voice was quiet and sad, a little more shaken than Nami's but he was still able to sound semi-calm.

"That is something for you to discover in due time. I must be off now. I have important business to attend to." Hawkeye started to step towards the door wanting to leave before Zoro woke up again. However, before he had the chance to even leave the infirmary, he felt a dark presence getting closer and closer to them. When Hawkeye felt the aura his eyes narrowed and his steps came to a halt. The Straw Hats glanced at him strangely until the man spoke up again, his tone dark and heavy. "There are two other shadow demons approaching this ship..."

...

"Do you feel that aura Kurayami...?" Yusuke asked, narrowing his eyes in displeasure. "What would the king of demons be doing near Roronoa? Did he find out that he was a half demon...?" The purple haired man thought out loud, biting the nail on his thumb nervously.

"Roronoa's aura has diminished now. We might have been too late in our arrival. They might have killed him." Kurayami stated, only to get his neck grabbed by his master as his huge body was lifted off the ground. He placed one of his big hands around Yusuke's wrist unable to pry him off.

"They wouldn't do that. Even if he is the king, a mere hawk demon wouldn't dare interfere in our work... His nakama wouldn't possibly kill him either. They don't have enough backbone for that! So don't say such stupidity again! If you insist on wasting my time, I'll end you." Yusuke protested, dropping Kurayami roughly to the ground. Despite his outburst of anger, Yusuke knew that his assistant may be right. What else would explain Zoro's aura depleting so quickly?

Kurayami coughed violently to catch his breath, lightly holding his neck where it had been squeezed and taking a few gasps to fill his lungs again. "Yes sir..." Was all the assistant replied with. He knew better than to go against his master's wishes especially when he was in a state like this. Kurayami couldn't remember the last time he saw Yusuke this angry.

Suddenly, Yusuke broke out into crazed laughing fit. His laugh was full of darkness and anger matching the way his voice sounded. "Mihawk... He thinks that all demons will simply obey him without question just because he is strong. We'll show him that isn't true. With Roronoa's help we'll dethrone him and take over as ruler of the demons... That way no human will stand a chance of living!" His laughter continued before he spoke again.

"This is no problem. Roronoa should be in the last stages of losing his human half. His aura relaxed because he must be putting up less of a struggle, that's all! When he finally loses to his demon half we'll be there to use him..." Yusuke ensured himself. "I'm not sure what Mihawk was doing there... there's no way a demon would help out a pathetic human anyways! Even if he did, Mihawk won't stand in the way of our plan! Roronoa's demon will take over. It's only a matter of time. The best he can to is delay the effects! There's no way a human can overcome a demon! Especially when that demon knows about the darkness in a person's heart..."

His smirk grew sickeningly wide, the purple haired man's expression even caused Kurayami to feel uneasy. "The darkness in a human's heart... Is always what causes them to lose." Yusuke sneered with another dark chuckle.

...

The pain was gone. In fact... He felt better than he had in a while. Floating in darkness with nothing but silence around him. When he finally realized that he could, Zoro opened his eyes slowly. Still seeing nothing but darkness around him even though his eyes had been opened.

The swordsman knew exactly where he was. He had been in a place like that a lot. Too many times to count. Zoro slowly sat up and looked around him, the demon was nowhere in sight but he spotted his katana lying next to him.

'Why...? Am I alive...?' He asked himself quietly wondering why the pain had stopped and why he was back in his inner world. Zoro remembered seeing a blurry image of his nakama crying but nothing after that. The last thing he remembered before seeing that was him and the cook fighting his inner demon. Then... He felt extreme pain and everything went black...

The swordsman sat still for a moment looking sorrowfully at the ground bellow him. He had asked his nakama to kill him... He had caused them all so much pain... Unable to think of their expressions any longer, Zoro reached for the swords next to him and slipped them back to their place by his hip.

When they had been secured there he climbed to his feet and looked down at his hands seeing that they no longer matched the shadows around him. Everything seemed back to normal... Well... Other than the fact that he wasn't with the crew on the ship.

"So... That idiot thought he could save him by setting this up...?" A confident yet annoyed sounding voice echoed through the darkness. The figure did not appear right next to Zoro like it always had before. This time it stayed its distance, hiding itself in the darkness.

"Breaking the seal like that was a bad move. Just because that weak human half has a bit more power doesn't mean this will turn out any different..." It talked to itself seeming like it was angry about something. "All my work gone..." It muttered again when its gaze suddenly snapped towards Zoro seeing that he had been calmly listening to it.

"Doesn't matter..." The figure continued, keeping its gaze locked with Zoro's. "There's no seal..." Suddenly its lips curled up to a bloodthirsty smile, it's sickening expression finally back on its face. "I can devour you so easily... Finally! All my strength is back!" It let out a dark chuckle and started to step towards the swordsman.

As soon as the shadow had finished talking Zoro knew what he had to do. He didn't know how exactly, but he was given another chance to defeat his inner demon. The swordsman wouldn't pass up an opportunity like that so he slowly unsheathed his katana.

'You... think you can devour me just like that...?' Zoro spoke around the white katana in his mouth. 'I don't know exactly what happened... But I know that right now... I can fight back. I won't let you kill my nakama.'

He tried his best to sound confident and threatening but every time he thought of fighting the demon what happened to him and Sanji played in his head. The excruciating pain, both of them not even standing a chance in the fight...

Zoro knew that he had failed every time he tried to fight the demon and because of those failures... The swordsman... Was afraid... he was afraid that he would fail once again. Afraid to let his crew down and cause them to experience even more pain than they already had. Zoro... Was afraid that he was weak.

That fear started to consume Zoro and he couldn't stop his body from shaking all over. No matter how hard he tried, the trembling wouldn't stop and it only got worse the closer the demon got to him. His heart was pounding out of his chest and felt as if it was going to explode.

'What the hell's wrong with me...?' Zoro muttered angrily to himself trying to hold still with all of his strength. 'Stop shaking damn it...' He snapped at himself furiously, hitting one his shaking legs with the hilt of his katana.

It wasn't like the swordsman never felt fear before. However, it wasn't like Zoro was Usopp either. He didn't get scared over every little fight and even if he was scared, it was more of a nervousness or adrenalin than anything else. The swordsman had never really feared death or anything to a certain extent. His biggest fear was being unable to protect his nakama, a fear that had constantly been becoming a part of his reality.

Sure he had been nervous before during a battle when his friends were in danger or if he was about to die before fulfilling his dream. However, during those times he had always believed that they would win. He believed his friends were strong enough to survive and believed that he could win despite the odds or he had accepted his death and defeat to protect his nakama, something he couldn't do in this case.

This time was different. He didn't have that same belief or hope. He didn't have the same confidence that no matter what happens they would win and everything would be alright, that hope was gone... He didn't even have the power to sacrifice himself to keep his friends safe... That powerlessness left nothing behind but pure terror.

"That's so adorable!" The figure in front of Zoro sneered. "You look just like you did so many years ago! Back when you were a kid! The same look of fear in your eyes..." It's laughter grew louder, ringing inside of the swordsman's ears. "You're shaking like a leaf!"

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the figure in front of him, biting down on the hilt of the Wado in his mouth out of frustration. If it hadn't been there, the swordsman was pretty sure his teeth would have been chattering too... How disgraceful.

"No need to give me such a poisonous look! We both know that you're terrified! So why don't you just make it easier on the both of us and let me take over without much of a struggle?" It asked with an amused look on its face.

Without breaking his gaze away from its red eyes, Zoro rose up the shaking hilt of his sword and held it up to the shadow. He took his middle finger off of the katana and stuck it out towards the shadow, grinning slightly around the sword in his mouth. 'Fuck you...'

The swordsman's heart started to beat faster as his stomach twisted up when he saw the figure's smile drop. Acting confident hadn't been that hard in a while. Zoro knew he had upset the demon but refused to waver despite his fear. He had finally made a decision which caused him to shake slightly less... Zoro did not believe that he could win against his demon. So... He was going to at least take the demon with him when he died.

"You made a grave mistake..." It muttered furiously. "Trying to act so smug... You have no idea what sort of pain I'm going to put you through now!" The smile suddenly snapped back on his face as he began to walk forwards again.

It took small, slow steps as Zoro got in his fighting stance while he waited for it to emerge. However, something seemed different about the figure that was walking towards him now. It wasn't the same height anymore, it was shorter... And the outline of its body was different. It... Looked like a small child.

It took a few steps closer and the shadows around it started to fade showing the full image of the figure in front of him. It was a small girl with a prideful expression that emerged out of the shadows. Her blue hair swaying slightly with the wind created from the movement of walking... It... was Kuina...

Zoro's eyes shot open wide as his jaw dropped causing the white katana in his mouth to drop to the ground and roll towards the girl in front of him. He would have dropped his other katana as well but before they could fall out of his hands he tightened his grip around them. The swordsman's breath caught in his throat as his head started to spin. 'Kui...na...?' He choked out.

"You aren't acting so smug anymore now are you?" The figure said in Kuina's voice, using her face to make that same sickening smile that it had on before. The blue haired girl reached down and picked up the Wado Ichimonji to complete the image walking around Zoro as he lowered his head, shadows covering his eyes. He was unable to move or speak.

"There's always one thing that someone regrets, one darkness that dwells in someone's heart that makes them lose all of their fighting spirit. That one person that you could never raise your sword to!" She laughed darkly watching as Zoro simply stayed frozen in place, unable to look her way.

"After all this time I can finally see that look on your face! I've been waiting all this time to use this against you but my abilities were always held back by that pesky seal!" Kuina said with a sadistically happy tone when Zoro bit his bottom lip.

His stomach twisted with guilt and heavy despair hearing her voice again. He knew that he wouldn't be able to look up and see her again, let alone raise his katana to her. There was no way he could do it... There was no way he could kill her again.

"Don't you have anything to say Zoro? You haven't seen me in so long and you won't even look my way!" Kuina shouted with an almost annoyed tone, it was even acting like her now. Talking like she did, walking like she did...

'Stop... Stop it right now...' Zoro muttered as his voice shook vigorously. He hadn't even noticed that he was gripping the katana in his hands so tightly. The swordsman found it hard to speak too. He felt sick, as if he would curl over and throw up at any time.

"Stop what, you dummy? You're making no sense!" Kuina said in the same tone that she would use if she had actually been alive. Even calling him dummy... He couldn't take it anymore. He could barely look at Tashigi just because she resembled Kuina... Now his same friend from his childhood was standing in front of him. No... It was just a trick... Just a trick. He had to keep telling himself that. The real Kuina was dead...

'Stop pretending to be her! It's sickening!' Zoro shouted, now squeezing his katana painfully tight. He gritted his teeth together and made sure to keep his gaze locked on the ground so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly, he felt two small hands on his cheeks. They were cold like ice and they guided Zoro head, raising it a little higher. Kuina was standing only inches away from his face, he was forced to look into her eyes. "I am Kuina..."

As soon as he saw her he dropped down to his knees. His face looked as if a katana had pierced through his heart. It was full of pure agony and pain. If Kuina didn't know any better, she'd think he was about to cry.

'L-Let go... Let go of me...' Zoro said weakly. Though he meant for it to sound more like an order or a threatening demand, his tone of voice made it sound like he was pleading. The swordsman would have swatted her hands away but it was as if the simple act of her being there was draining all of his strength.

"Now now Zoro... Relax... Don't you trust me...?" Kuina asked in the most kind and innocent voice she could muster. "After sacrificing myself to try and save you, the least you could do is trust me!" She said in a quiet, calm voice. Zoro went completely limp after she said that. His muscles relaxed and he stared blankly at her, his eyes as empty as they were when he was about to die.

The katana tumbled out of his hands and landed on the ground below him with a small clank, his arms doing nothing but dangling by his sides. "Good... Relax... That's it..." Kuina gently closed her eyes when suddenly a sharp pain was felt through Zoro's chest.

A blood thirsty smirk grew across the little blue haired swordsman's face as Zoro widened his eyes, shifting his gaze down to his chest which had been run through completely by the Wado Ichimonji in Kuina's hands. He slowly brought up his shanking hand and held the hilt of the katana that was inside of him, covering his hand with his own blood.

'Kuina...? What... are you d...-?' He shuttered while trying to speak, stopping when he looked back up and saw that Kuina's eyes were glowing red along with the wide smile across her face. When Zoro saw her red eyes his grip tightened slightly on the hilt of the katana that was running through him. He had to wake up... It wasn't Kuina. It couldn't be Kuina. She was dead. He knew she was dead better than anyone else... because he was the one who killed her.

Zoro picked up the katana that had fallen by his sides and stumbled to his feet. Cringing in pain as Kuina slowly took the katana out of his chest, his blood dripping from the new wound and on to the ground like heavy rain drops.

"What am I doing you ask...?" Kuina said once the katana was completely out of Zoro's chest and she saw that he wasn't saying anything or moving once again. "Revenge." The small girl responded darkly.

The swordsman got a devastated expression on his face when she said that knowing exactly what the girl was talking about. "You see... I think it's only fair that you have to go through what I went through! There's no way I could forgive you for what you've done otherwise!" She began to say, pacing back and forth in front of the swaying swordsman as she talked.

Hearing her say all of those things to him made Zoro look as if he had already died. He was in too much shock and pain to speak... Kuina had never forgiven him... And now she wanted revenge. Zoro always feared that she had never forgiven him but never thought that she'd want to kill him in return for what he did.

Despite knowing that he was going to die Zoro just couldn't fight back. Kuina was right. How could she possibly have forgiven him? After everything he did to her that would be impossible. Not only that... He even failed to fulfil her dream when he had to chance... Of course Kuina never forgave him.

Suddenly, the same small , cold hand grasped Zoro's neck and squeezed it tightly. The swordsman tried to inhale but the hand was crushing his windpipe so only chocking sounds could be heard. "How does it feel to get chocked?" Kuina asked in a sadistic tone of voice, her smile wider than it had ever been before she died.

Zoro slowly brought up his hand and placed it on her wrist. He didn't try to pry the hand off of his throat and didn't try to resist what she was doing. The swordsman just didn't have the heart to. He didn't blame her for wanting revenge. Zoro took everything away from her. Kuina's life... Her dream... Of course she would be angry and want revenge. He deserved this...

That why even though Zoro knew that the person in front of him wasn't really Kuina he didn't fight back. He knew that the real Kuina was dead and that it was impossible for her to have come back to life. But even though he knew that... The swordsman just couldn't raise his sword to someone that looked like her. It reminding him too much of the past... He couldn't do it... Not again. Doing something like that again would be too agonizing to bear. He couldn't get more of her blood on his hands. Even if it wasn't her... There was something inside of him that made Zoro believe that what the figure was saying is really how she feels.

'I... deserve whatever you do to me...' The swordsman chocked out with the last of his breath before gently closing his eyes, accepting his fate and her decision to kill him. If she wanted to kill him then he had nothing left to live for. He couldn't live with the guilt of knowing that she wanted him dead. If his life was causing so many people pain... Then what was the point of living?

He knew his death would cause his nakama who were waiting for him on the deck pain... That, and the demon would wake up once he was dead... It might end up killing them too. He knew all that and yet no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to try and fight her.

Zoro only prayed that they would go through with their original plan and stab him before his demon could wake up. The swordsman knew they were planning to do that… So, he let his mind go blank and waited for her to do whatever she wanted to him, trusting his crew would do just that.

It had worked... The figure knew that things would turn out that way if it would take Kuina's form. Now the shadow could do anything it wanted to the swordsman without any struggling... And the figure intended to enjoy every minute of it.

"You're finally gonna pay for what you did! I'm not going to let you off easy! You're going to have a slow, painful death... Just like I did!" She shouted excitedly letting him drop weakly to the ground as she slashed him repeatedly with the Wado. Zoro coughed and grunted loudly in pain, taking gasps of air and struggled to stay in his feet as pain ripped through his body. More of his blood splashed on the ground beneath him with every cough.

Once he had enough deep slash wounds to match the amount that Kuina had before she died, the blue haired swordsman stopped slashing for a moment to look at her work. Watching the thick red liquid drip from his body and into a puddle bellow him with a bloodthirsty smirk.

Kuina chuckled darkly when she looked up to see the pained, weak looking expression on Zoro's face. His sight was focusing in and out as he kept his gaze locked on the ground. Despite the fact that he was being tortured, he still didn't fight back.

"Well you're no fun... Not even one cry of pain." She said disappointedly as Zoro simply continued to stare sorrowfully at the ground bellow him. "If you're just gonna stand there with that blank expression then I'm not gonna waste my time on you." Kuina finally said in annoyance after a short pause of silence. There was no point in torturing somebody if they didn't even cry out in pain. It was just plain boring... Beating up an empty shell wasn't satisfying at all.

The blue haired swordsman rose the Wado up to Zoro's neck and pressed against it, cause a small trickle of blood to leak out as he swayed. "Do you have any last words?" She asked with a smile.

Zoro was silent for a long while. He didn't want to die after he had been given a second chance to defeat his demon. However, he couldn't fight his demon half when it looked and sounded like that. Every time he tried, his arms just wouldn't raise, his body just wouldn't move as despair and guilt twisted in his chest and stomach. 'Kuina...'

He parted his lips to continue speaking but before he could say his goodbyes his eyes shot open widely when he felt a hard punch to the side of his cheek. Nobody was in his inner world with Zoro this time... So who could have punched him...?

'GET IT TOGETHER!' Sanji's voice suddenly echoed loudly in the swordsman's head. 'I don't give a shit what's going on in there! Don't you dare give up so easily! Kuina would want you to fight back, wouldn't she!? YOU ARE THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN, SO START ACTING LIKE IT!'

The swordsman stood motionless for a second, unable to believe what he heard... However, the voice that echoed in his head was right... He couldn't lose. Not again...

With new found determination the corners of Zoro's lips curled into a small smile as he let out a quiet chuckle. That stupid cook was always looking out for him... Thanks to that, Zoro was able to snap out of it. He slowly rose his hand and gripped the sword at his neck tightly as the steel cut into the skin on his hand.

"You... You aren't Kuina! You're nothing like her!" Zoro announced confidently as he mustered up all the strength he had left in his body to clench his fist around the blade and yank it from the demon. It's grip slipped as Zoro quickly grabbed the hilt with both hands and slashed it down with all his might across the demon's chest. "You don't even act like her... The real Kuina would have wanted me to fight back! No matter what kind of revenge she wanted to get!"

There was rage burning in his eyes as he shouted at the figure in front of him seeing as it slowly faded back from Kuina's appearance to its original one. It fell to the ground with a heavy thump as it coughed and scrambled to get to its feet.

The figure watched with disbelieving eyes as Zoro calmly walked towards the katana he dropped before, placing the Wado back in his mouth and clenching the two others tightly in both hands. He turned back to face the shadow as it finally let go of its bleeding chest and rose to its feet.

'Damn you... What kind of human are you!?' It shouted loudly as it weakly sent black spikes hurdling towards Zoro. The swordsman easily swatted them away, noticing that they were a lot weaker than they had been before. He slowly walked towards the shadow as it scrambled back in fear. 'How!? How could you kill your best friend for a second time so easily!?' It pleaded loudly sending more spikes Zoro's direction.

The spikes didn't slow him down at all, he just swatted them away again and was now standing over the demon. Suddenly, a calm, confident smile sprawled across Zoro's face as he looked into the demon's terrified eyes. The swordsman expression was almost peaceful... Happy even... As if he had gained all the power and courage in the world.

"I... just had a change of heart... I decided that I couldn't allow myself to die at the hands of an imposter like you. That's something Kuina would truly never forgive me for." The green haired swordsman responded calmly as he plunged in katana through the shadow's chest.

It widened its eyes in shock and looked down at the sword through its chest. 'So this is how it ends...' The figure finally said with a strange sort of sadness and regret in its tone. The demon slowly looked up at Zoro as it started fading away into nothing, seeing his powerful and confident looking expression. 'Damn... It's impossible that I lost to a mere human...!'

Zoro watched the darkness around him starting to fade as his smile widened. After looking around his inner world one more time he shifted his gaze back and looked right into the fading demon's eyes once again. "Then… I guess that makes me a monster." The swordsman stated confidently as the rest of the darkness faded away.

...

"Two shadow demons...? That's twice you said shadow demons... What do you mean by that?" Sanji asked curiously. He and the rest of the crew knew that he had to be talking about Yusuke and Kurayami but they wondered if there was some significance to Hawkeye classifying them as shadow demons.

"What...? You thought that there was only one kind of demon? It's like saying there is only one type of human." Hawkeye explained seemingly starting to get annoyed by how many 'obvious' questions he had been asked. "There are many kinds of demons... For example I am a hawk demon. Roronoa and the two approaching the ship are shadow demons." He said before taking a small pause, his voice drifting off into a thoughtful tone.

"Shadow demons are rare to find... Unlike dog demons or fire demons." A small smirk sprawled across the man's face as he shifted his gaze back to the other Straw Hats. "I've never had three gathered in the same place... This will serve to be quite interesting."

The crew looked at the man strangely wondering why he seemed so amused that these 'shadow demons' are all gathered together but they decided it was better to not ask him anymore questions. At least for the time being.

"They are near..." He stated simply, starting to step towards the door again. "Do not let them near Roronoa. I'm positive they will try to sabotage his fight for control." Hawkeye then opened the door to the infirmary and took a step outside. What he said made it sound like there was about to be a battle. One that both the Straw Hats and Mihawk would have to take part in.

The infirmary fell into deep heavy silence when the man walked out the door. It stayed like that for a while until weak scrambling could be heard. It was Luffy... He was trying to stand up but every time he got close pain shot through his chest, causing him to stumble back down.

"What are you guys waiting for...?" The captain asked exhaustedly, out of breath from just attempting to stand. "We have to... Defeat them..." Luffy forced out again, straining himself to try and stand. However, before he could continue trying, Chopper placed his hoofs on Luffy's shoulders to keep him down.

"Luffy, you're still injured! There's no way you can fight!" Chopper shouted at him, using all his might to keep the captain still so he wouldn't move around and open his injuries. Even in the captain injured state he was fighting the doctor's hold pretty hard.

"I can fight! I refuse to just stay back and watch my nakama die!" He shouted at the doctor as loudly as he could only causing himself to cough painfully afterwards. Chopper looked at his nakama sympathetically but held his ground, he knew that if Luffy were to fight he would definitely die. Especially against opponents like Yusuke and Kurayami.

"Luffy..." A quiet, deep voice was heard from across the room as Sanji slowly picked up the white sheath of Zoro's katana and slipped the blade back inside. He placed it gently next to the swordsman before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards the door. He was slouched over, staring at the ground in front of him as he walked.

"I'm sorry... for everything..." Sanji finally whispered when he got close enough for Luffy to hear his quiet voice. The captain didn't need an apology in the first place but the cook knew that he was about to do before was unforgivable. Guilt twisted up in his chest once he calmed down realizing that he had kicked his captain to the ground even though Luffy was so injured. He even tried to kill his nakama... If Hawkeye had walked in even a second later... Zoro would be dead... And it would have been Sanji's fault.

Despite the unbearable guilt he was feeling the cook knew that he still needed to fight. He needed to protect his nakama now... that was the only thing that mattered. "Leave it to us, captain... You stay here and rest... We'll defeat them. Whatever it takes." Sanji stated confidently with a fiery tone of voice.

Luffy looked up at Sanji silently for a moment. Though the cook didn't meet his gaze, the captain could tell his nakama was ready to fight. He was a reliable fighter too. Luffy knew that if he left it to Sanji, everything would be alright... Coming to that conclusion, Luffy gave the cook a small nod and finally relaxed himself. "Kick his ass!" The raven haired boy stated demandingly, as if it was an order.

His tone of voice caused a small smile to appear of Sanji's face as he slowly pulled out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth. With a few flicks of his lighter the cigarette was lit as he took a long inhale of the tobacco. "Right." The cook agreed, smoke puffing from his mouth and fading into the air around him when he opened his mouth to speak.

The rest of the Straw Hats stood tall when Sanji said that as they all made their way out of the infirmary, taking out their weapons and preparing for the fight. When they left, the infirmary was silent once again leaving Luffy sitting in the middle of the floor as he looked up at his unconscious swordsman worryingly. He was frustrated that he wouldn't be able to defeat Yusuke and Kurayami himself but he knew that his crew would definitely be able to do it.

The captain sat there peacefully for a moment only for his expression to twist up in devastation, his heart dropping when he saw the small glow of a dark aura starting to surround Zoro as different slash marks suddenly started to appear on his body. "Common Zoro... You can win..." Luffy muttered quietly.

...

When the straw hats filed out of the infirmary the rain had cleared leaving the deck wet with puddles everywhere. They decided quickly on the formation they would take. Brook and Franky would be by the infirmary door, Nami, Chopper and Usopp would provide the back up as Sanji would be on the front lines, the first to step into battle along with Hawkeye.

They all got in their fighting positions, Sanji slowly taking his arms out of the sling once again, they didn't hurt too much anymore though they were still a bit difficult to move.

Everyone knew it would be a tough battle, they knew from past experience that the two demons they were about to face were incredibly strong. However, they had to win... Zoro's life was on the line and so was the fate of every human's.

Things would be different this time, Hawkeye was with them. They knew that they could trust the man now after everything that he had done for Zoro. He would be a huge asset to the battle and gave them a chance of winning.

So, everyone waited patiently and kept their guard up, always shifting their gaze around to see if they spotted the purple haired man and his assistant. Suddenly, a surprised shout was heard from Brook as he readied his sword. Yusuke was standing only inches away from him with a smirk across his lips, Kurayami standing on the railing not too far away.

Just like they had done before, when the Straw Hats least expected it, the two of them appeared on the ship as if they had teleported there. "Hello~!" Yusuke sneered as his smirk widened and he leaned in a bit closer to Brook. "It's been a while!"

"Strong left!" Franky stated quickly as he shot bullets from his left arm and towards Yusuke. He simply and gracefully jumped back with a small back flip and landed on the grassy part of the deck with only a small thump. Kurayami jumped after him, his body crashing hard into the deck when he landed creating a huge bang.

Yusuke scanned the area locking his gaze with the Straw Hats standing in front of him until he finally stopped to turn to Hawkeye, who had been waiting calmly and patiently. "And hello to you as well, king." The purple haired man said a bit sarcastically as he took a small bow towards him.

"Do not interfere with this crew." Mihawk ordered Yusuke, his yellow eyes piercing through the man in front of him. Despite the intimidating glare, the purple haired man didn't seem to falter.

"What would such a powerful demon like yourself want with Roronoa, a mere half demon?" Yusuke asked curiously giving Mihawk a strange look as if he was trying to read the other man's mind. Even though they were just speaking you could tell the two of them were fighting for power over the other.

"Roronoa is a man of unwavering honour and ambition. If anyone will surpass me in the end, it shall be him." The man stated causing Yusuke's smile to drop a bit, in fact, the purple haired shadow demon looked utterly enraged.

"That man? Surpass you...? How could you say such nonsense!? He is half human! A weak half breed! To think that the great Hawkeye Mihawk would stoop to such a lowly level as to believe someone like Roronoa would surpass him. You don't deserve the title of king anymore..." Yusuke ranted bitterly, his dark aura starting to emanate from him due to his angered state.

"I'll show you that I should be king!" The shadow demon shouted. A black aura that matched Zoro's started to envelop his body as he started to run at Hawkeye as quickly as he could. "Once I defeat you, I'll use Roronoa to slaughter the human race!" Yusuke announced chuckling darkly as he smiled a wide, bloodthirsty smile.

Once he was in range, Yusuke's dark aura condensed and enveloped his hands as he lunged towards Hawkeye, flinging his hand at the raven haired swordsman. The purple haired man's hand was not in a fist though, it was open and whipped towards Mihawk as if it was the tip of a sword.

Despite the inhuman speed that the attack was going at, Hawkeye leaned his head calmly to the side before the attack could connect and let the hand miss. Wind whipped through Mihawk's hair from the force of the blow and then in the blink of an eye, Yusuke had attack with his other hand and Hawkeye had drawn his huge black blade, blocking the strike with it and sending yet another shock wave throughout the deck. The black aura mixed with Hawkeye's green one. Both of them were so powerful... you could feel their presence if you got anywhere near, even if they weren't fighting.

"But you know. Once he loses his usefulness it wouldn't be any fun just to throw him away..." He continued as their two weapons clashed, Yusuke starting to push against Hawkeye's blade a little harder when the purple haired shadow demon's eyes suddenly widened. They had a crazed, overly excited, bloodthirsty look in them. "I think I'll kill that half-demon in the most slow, excruciatingly painful way possible!" He sneered enthusiastically with lust in his tone of voice. Yusuke also had the widest, most sickening smile the man could possibly make edged on his face.

Before the Straw Hats could watch anymore of the unbelievable fight Kurayami's big shadow casted over them. Sanji immediately got into his fighting positions, ready for the big man to attack. Kurayami looked like a giant up close, he stood at 7 feet and his body was very bulky, he towered over almost everyone on the deck.

Despite his muscular appearance and big body the man was able to move at inhuman speeds as well. Without even seeing him move, Kurayami got behind Sanji and sent a strong punch at his back. If it wasn't for the cook's fighting experience his reaction time would have been too slow. However, after fighting so many battles his body was able to move on its own, just from pure instinct.

He was able to block the punch with a high kick even though the force from it caused the blonde to slide back. Sanji was able to hold his ground and stay in the lock while clouds started to form above their head. As soon as it was finished forming, Sanji jumped back as a huge lightning bolt hit Kurayami. "Lightning tempo!" Nami shouted confidently.

Before the dust could even clear Usopp stepped in as well, sending two shots towards the demon. When they hit, the two of them caused an explosion that sent wind whipping through the deck. "Exploding star!" He chanted a bit nervously.

It was silent for a bit, all accept for the clashes that were heard coming for Hawkeye and Yusuke's fight until the wind started to blow the dust away, revealing Kurayami in the middle of the dust cloud. The giant man seemed to have been unaffected by both attacks, only dirt from the dust flying up on his body with no visible injuries.

The Straw Hats widened their eyes in surprise when they saw that the man looked uninjured, only letting their guard down for a single moment. However, within that single moment Kurayami disappeared from their vision and reappeared right in front of Sanji.

Before he could react, the man grabbed his face with incredible force and sent the cook flying across the deck. Sanji smashed through the infirmary door and skidded into the room that Zoro was lying in, hitting the wall with a huge bang. The cook's injured body falling limply to the ground.

"Sanji!?" Luffy shouted when he saw his nakama whip by him and fly into the wall. The captain moved as quickly as he could, crawling over to his nakama to see if he was still alright. "Oi Sanji! Are you ok!?" Luffy asked with desperation waiting for an answer from his cook.

Sanji coughed a few times and slowly sat up. He rubbed the back of his head where he had hit the wall feeling a bit of blood in his hair. He gritted his teeth and swore under his breath but quickly answered his captain's question so that Luffy wouldn't worry. "Ya, I'm fine. Just lost focus for a second and got knocked back... That guy's strength is unbelievable..." Sanji said grimly, finally climbing to his feet as some blood from his head dripped onto the ground. He started walking past Luffy once again to leave but as he was walking he saw a dark aura in his peripheral vision.

It was Zoro... This time he had deep gashes all over his body, the aura around him started to become stronger and it enveloped his entire body. He was muttering something too... Very quietly though. Sanji gritted his teeth together and clenched his fists tighter turning away from the door and stomping angrily over to his nakama.

Luffy watched Sanji with a bit of a confused look on his face, wondering what the cook as going to do. It wasn't like he could leap in there and help the swordsman... So what could he possibly do?... Though Luffy could see why he at least wanted to try. It was obvious that Zoro was losing... After all, there was the aura surrounding him as well as the countless deep injuries that kept appearing on his body. He couldn't help but wonder if whatever Sanji was about to do would help.

When Sanji finally got close enough he could heard the faint sounds of Zoro's muttering. "Kuina..." The swordsman said quietly with pain and sorrow twisted up in his voice. Zoro sounded hopeless too, as if he had given up...

As soon as Sanji heard that, a loud smacking sound echoed throughout the room. Sanji had punched Zoro across the face through the dark aura. He had felt the pain of being in the aura before, it wasn't as strong as it was before so it was even more bearable this time.

Due to his previous experiences with it, the cook was even able to reach inside the aura and grab the swordsman's shirt as well, clenching the material tightly in his fist. "GET IT TOGETHER!" Sanji shouted at the top of his lungs. "I don't give a shit what's going on in there! Don't you dare give up so easily! Kuina would want you to fight back, wouldn't she!? YOU ARE THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN, SO START ACTING LIKE IT!"

Sanji stayed in that position, breathing heavily for a while from yelling so loudly. Soon after, the dark aura surrounding Zoro started to fade as a small, almost cocky smile appeared on the swordsman's expression. That smile would usually piss Sanji off but this time... He was relieved and overjoyed to see it.

The cook's mouth twisted into a smile to match Zoro's as he slowly placed the swordsman back on to the bed and let go of his shirt. "That's the marimo I know..." Sanji whispered to himself with a satisfied tone as he bit down on the cigarette in his mouth. "Now I've got some other business to take care of..." He muttered determinedly.

The cook turned towards the door confidently, seemed like everything was going their way... At least it did until Sanji suddenly froze in place. His eyes opened widely in terror when he saw through the broken remains of the door a familiar large shadow casting over them just like before, a shadow that could only be casted by one man... Kurayami was standing at the door and peering into the room, his stare piercing through Sanji.

When Luffy saw his cook freeze up he turned towards the direction of the door with a suspenseful expression. When he saw Kurayami standing there his face matched the same devastated expression as Sanji's. He had showed up so quickly, Sanji had only been in the infirmary for a minute… If the man was standing there... Then that meant... "What did you do...!?" Luffy asked angrily before he could even finish the thought. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY NAKAMA!?"

**((Author's note: Hawkeye saves the day! Man I love this character so much! (But not as much as Zoro of course 3) I hope you liked the chapter, the next one will be out as soon as possible))**


	16. Smile

# Smile

**((Author's note: I'm done yet another chapter! *^* wow it's been 2 whole years since I first started this story! I can never thank you guys enough for reading my stuff, please keep reviewing to tell me how you're liking the ending so far!)) ((P.S. Sorry for the delay! I joined a Fanfiction contest sort of thing and needed to write a story for that by a certain date putting this one on a pause for a bit :P))**

Sanji had only left for a minute. He wasn't in the infirmary for long... However, he could see past the man's giant body the Straw Hats collapsed on the deck. They weren't moving at all, not even a bit...

"What did I do?" Kurayami echoed calmly as if unable to understand why such a question had been asked. "I killed them of course." He stated, the answer was so obvious to him. If the blonde couldn't see that by just looking there must have been something wrong with him.

Both of the remaining Straw Hats widened their eyes in horror when he said that, their hearts dropping as well. There was no way information like that could be true. Everyone on the crew was so strong and driven. They wouldn't die so easily... And to solidify Sanji and Luffy's resolve, a familiar voice reached their ears.

"Hey man! Don't think... We're dead yet...!" Franky announced weakly as he struggled to his feet along with the other Straw Hats. Despite the fact that he was a cyborg even the front of his body seemed bashed and was bleeding. It wasn't only him either. All of the other Straw Hats seemed tired as well, bleeding and bruised. It all happened in a flash, everyone felt parts of their body get hit hard and before they knew it, they were on the ground...

However, it wasn't anything they hadn't faced before. After that fight the crew had with Oars, they wouldn't be defeated so easily. All the tactics and mistakes they made while facing that giant would form the way they would fight in this battle.

Everyone climbed to their feet and got back into a fighting stance, ready for another round against Kurayami. "I miscalculated. It seems you humans are more durable than most. I'm curious as to see just how durable you are." The man said calmly as he observed all the Straw Hats.

Sanji stared in shock at what had happened. Everyone was in relatively perfect health only a moment ago and now it looks like they could barely stand. Knowing that, he had this overwhelming feeling that no matter what happened he had to keep this man away from Zoro. It was a feeling stronger than he had ever felt before. Kurayami couldn't be allowed to enter the infirmary.

The cook walked closer to the man to block his view from the rest of the infirmary, making sure he didn't even think about going after Luffy or Zoro. The man was so hard to read, Sanji couldn't predict what he was after. He was expressionless, calm and emotionless. Didn't talk much either. That was part of the reason why he was such a difficult opponent to face.

While Sanji was still thinking, Kurayami started to walk through the shattered remains of the door. His eyes seemed focused on one spot... On Zoro... As soon as he took even a step Sanji sent a hard kick to his stomach.

The cook's foot was caught by a strong hand that held it in place but that also stopped Kurayami from moving forward. "Don't even think about it..." Sanji growled angrily at the man, giving him a threatening gaze.

Kurayami stayed silent for a long while until he finally pushed off of Sanji's foot. The cook was sent back a bit, staying on his feet as he stood frozen in front of the man. "So you ended up killing that half breed in the end?" The man asked calmly though if you listened close enough you could hear a twinge of unease.

"What would make you say that...?" Sanji asked in a low, unfriendly tone. How did he know that killing Zoro had even crossed their minds? A solution so extreme couldn't have possibly been thought of by somebody else too... A solution so unforgivable that it sickens the cook to even think that he suggested it...

Knocking those thoughts out of his mind and waiting for an answer, Sanji narrowed his eyes at the giant man in front of him scanning his entire body for any movements or hints as to what he was going to do next.

"Well. Roronoa is not breathing. If the terms for absorption were set in place then the man should have the demon's aura around him." Kurayami explained looking over Sanji's head to examine Zoro once more to make sure that he got it right.

"Terms for absorption?" Robin whispered questioningly. She had never heard that term before in any book she had read or anything she heard about demons.

"In the rare case that a half demon is born we full demons have the ability to set up a special fight between the two halves. We give the human half enough power to resist the demon and give it a chance to absorb the other half in one decisive battle." Kurayami answered indifferently. He didn't see any problem in telling them since they would be dead soon anyways.

"Without setting this up it is impossible for the human half to absorb the demon and this way the demon would also absorb the human a lot quicker. If this is not used on the half bred, their demon will simply keep devouring the human half slowly until there is nothing left." The muscular demon continued on. "Despite full demons using this method for centuries on countless half demons, no half breed had actually been able to defeat their demon during their decisive battle. It always ended in the human half being absorbed."

"That's good to know. Though your explanation was a bit long winded." Sanji sneered with a cocky grin. He grabbed a cigarette from his case, placing it in his mouth and lighting it up with one flick of his lighter. "With these terms set, Zoro now has a chance to win."

"Did you not hear what I had said before? No human ever defeats their demon half. So, don't count on him winning. The chances of Roronoa actually succeeding are still less than 1 in 1,000,000." Kurayami stated with emotionless bluntness expecting once they had realized the odds he was against that their hope would be lost once again. However, they knew the odds all along and their belief in Zoro still didn't waver. Knowing he had even a small chance made it so they could finally hope again without fear.

"I guess you don't know our swordsman too well then!" Usopp jumped in with a confident smile looking straight into the man's eyes with a prideful gaze.

"There's no way he's gonna lose!" Chopper smiled excitedly as he happily jumped up in the air. He had faith in Zoro just like all the other Straw Hats; he's seen just how capable the swordsman can be.

"He's not just any ordinary human." Nami stated smugly, shaking her finger at the man as she shook her head in disappointment at his strange assumption. They have all seen how monstrously strong he can be in battle.

"Zoro's the man that will be the world's greatest swordsman one day!" Luffy shouted at the man trying to make him understand just how powerful of an opponent Kurayami and Yusuke decided to go against.

"Even if his chances were infinitely worse... As long as he has a chance, he will win!" Sanji added, blowing out a long stream of smoke as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and pointed it towards Kurayami to challenge him.

"Zoro-san is indeed quite extraordinary." Brook stated quietly though it was still loud enough for Kurayami to hear. He hadn't been on the crew for long at all but he still knew everything that the other Straw Hats were saying was true. He's seen him fight with his own eyes and saw how Zoro is capable of performing miracles too.

"So you can take your damn stats, and shove em' up your ass!" Franky snapped with an amused smirk letting out a small chuckle at his comment to the demon.

"Well said." Robin giggled quietly, politely bringing her hand up to her mouth as she did. There wasn't much else to say after all, everyone else seemed to have summed it up quite nicely.

Kurayami looked at them with a twinge of annoyance in his expression. He seemed angered at everyone's sudden outburst and clenched his giant fists. "I'll make you understand just how hopeless your situation truly is..." He stated lowly, causing every Straw Hat to prepare for a fight.

Now since he knew what was going on with Zoro he had no need to do anything. He would lose control to that demon fairly soon, all he had to do was wait. So, to pass the time Kurayami turned his back to the infirmary and bolted at the Straw Hats behind him. "It would be easier to simply illuminate you before he awakens." Kurayami said. Now aware of the incredible speed Kurayami could move at they were able to track his movements. Even after being able to follow him everyone was still only barely able to dodge the attack as they jumped to the side. Sanji ran through the broken door after him, leaving Luffy behind to just watch as the battle would unfold.

Before Kurayami could make another attack Sanji ran at him from behind, jumping up and whipping his leg right at the man's head. The demon was able to squat and duck underneath the kick before it connected with him. He spun around to face Sanji as the man punched towards the cook's torso.

Sanji was able to land on the ground, as soon as his feet touched it he jumped back and was able to get far enough away to be out of the demon's reach in time to dodge the punch. The cook went for the immediate counter by leaping forwards on to his right hand and aiming a kick for Kurayami's ribs. "Côtelette!"

The demon caught Sanji's leg and squeezed it tightly causing the cook to wince a bit. Before Kurayami could squeeze any tighter, Franky leaped in the air taking off the skin of his right hand and punching the man in the face as hard as he could. "Strong right!"

The fist connected but Kurayami didn't seem injured by the attack, it was enough to distract him tough as Chopper popped a yellow pill in his mouth. "Rumble! Arm point!" He then quickly came up behind Kurayami and hit a point in his shoulder that he knew would cause the demon to drop Sanji.

The doctor's expertise on the human body didn't fail him. When the attack landed Kurayami's hand was forced open and the cook tumbled to the ground once his leg was released. Sanji swore under his breath in frustration as he climbed to his feet watching as the demon rolled his shoulder around with a confused expression as to what happened.

Chopper and Franky joined the cook by his side. They were both wheezing and breathing heavily as they swayed slightly on their feet trying to ignore the pain from their injuries. All three of them watching the demon closely as he readjusted his shoulder. "An interesting ability." He commented as his eyes wandered to the reindeer with curiosity, wondering exactly how he did it.

Before Kurayami could make another move, Sanji started spinning around rapidly while dragging his foot along the ground. It only took him a few second until his leg caught fire from the friction. "Diable Jambe..." The cook muttered confidently as his piercing gaze looked the demon straight in the eyes.

"So you humans have fire abilities?" Kurayami questioned seeing Sanji's leg was now engulfed in the bright heat. However, he got nothing but silence from the cook as he ran at the demon being careful not to set anything on fire with his leg as he did.

While Sanji was approaching the demon, Usopp shuffled through his bag quickly and found a small shell. He aimed the shell at Kurayami and clicked the button in the back causing a flash of bright light to shine at his target, forcing him to close his eyes. "Flash dial!" Usopp announced with a confident smile when he saw Kurayami try to shield himself from the light.

While he was trying to cover his eyes and was distracted by the piercing brightness, Sanji finally got close enough to the demon and jumped up in the air sending a barrage of kicks at the man with both his flaming foot and his other foot. "Premier Haché!" Sanji chanted.

Kurayami was too busy with the bright light in his eyes to block or dodge, getting hit by the barrage of kicks and being forced to take a step back. The attacks left burn marks on the demon as he gritted his teeth in pain from the intense flame kicks.

Sanji wasn't done there. After he felt that he's kicked the man enough he used one of the impacts to push off of Kurayami and send himself flying in the air above him.

While the demon was still recovering from the beating he just took, Sanji rose his foot above his head and whipped it into the side of the demon's head with all his might. "Flambage Shot" The cook growled with anger this time, remembering everything those two demons have done to him and his nakama. He put all of his rage into that one kick.

The strength of the attack caused Kurayami to be knocked off his feet feeling the intense burning pain from the kick on the side of his head. The demon lost his balance and started to fall onto his side. However, Kurayami was able to catch himself and land on his hands and knees.

"YA!" Nami cheered happily as she pumped her fist into the air. She exchanged happy smiles with the rest of the Straw Hats who were also overjoyed to get a monster like Kurayami down on his knees. After all, if they could get somebody as powerful as that to fall on their knees there was no way they could lose.

The flames disappeared from Sanji's leg as the cook landed back onto the ground and stared at Kurayami intensely, waiting for the man to stand back on his feet. He wasn't going to hit a man when he was down... He wasn't fighting a zombie this time... Even if that man was a heartless demon the cook still had pride and ethics he had to withhold.

However, the demon didn't stand up right away for some reason. He just stayed in place on his hands and knees muttering quietly to himself as if he had snapped. Sanji watched him, keeping the fear as far away as possible from his mind and heart. He didn't know what Kurayami would do in the slightest, he was only staying there and muttering in a barely audible tone to himself.

"Destroy every human... Destroy every human..." Kurayami repeated darkly, his tone getting more and more forceful with each time he repeated it. "They will all end up abusing me until the end... Every last one of them trying to break me... I'll break them first..." The demon looked up at the Straw Hats with burning hatred in his gaze, the first time they had ever even seen any emotion in Kurayami's eyes.

When he did, they started to glow red as darkness enveloped Kurayami's entire body to make the rest of him match his short, spiky jet black hair. Fangs grew in his mouth as well as he slowly stood back up to his feet, the dark aura condensing and enveloping only his hands.

Without fazing for even a moment at Kurayami's new attitude and power Sanji continued on forwards, trying to strike him before he could get his head back in to the battle. He leaped on to his hands and launched himself at the man's chin. "Bouquetiére shoot!"

Before the two feet could reach him, Kurayami leaned back easily dodging Sanji. The man was even faster than he was before... He was even stronger now too... The cook continued to fly upwards, now helpless with no way means of attacking. "This is goodbye." The demon stated coldly as he pulled back his fist and shot it at Sanji with all the inhuman strength and speed he could muster.

The first hit his stomach hard as all of the air the cook had escaped him at once, the devouring feeling of the darkness unbearably strong. It felt as if all of his organs bursted from the impact and a painful crunching sound of bones breaking could be heard in his body.

If Sanji had to air to yell in pain he would but the lack of oxygen prevented him from doing it. He went flying back and smashed into the wall next to the infirmary making a huge dent in the wood as he fell forwards and onto his front, smacking the ground with a hard thud. Sanji wasn't moving a muscle after that as blood leaked out of his mouth.

"SANJI!" Nami shrieked when she saw what had happened. Just like before, it all went by so quickly but this time even faster. She couldn't do anything, there was no way she could have reacted in time to save him from that blow. If he was normal, Sanji would definitely be dead but she knew that he was tougher than that. Nami had to keep believing he was alive.

"Damn you, bastard!" Franky shouted at the man, enraged at what he had done to his nakama. The fight had just begun and everyone was already injured and exhausted. He knew he'd have to end it quickly or else they wouldn't all get out of this situation alive.

Franky inhaled all the air he could take letting his chest buff out as he thrusted his upper body towards the man. He let out all the air he took in at once as flames came out of his mouth and started to envelop the demon. While the flames were still blocking Kurayami's view Franky pointed the palm of his hand at the man, aiming a strange steel pipe towards him. The pipe started to suck in air as his forceps puffed out, when they were fully loaded Franky jumped towards the flames and released all the compressed air from his hands. "Coup de vent!"

The compressed air caused the flames to clear away quickly, revealing that the demon was no longer standing in that spot. He had vanished when the flames cut off everyone's view. Before Franky could even turn his head to look for the demon, Kurayami appeared behind him.

"You're made out of some sturdy material." He stated kicking out Franky's legs from underneath him as the cyborg fell flat on his stomach. "I wonder..." Kurayami muttered thoughtfully taking Franky's foot in his hand and starting to bend the ankle the wrong way. "How much strain your body can take before it snaps...?"

When the cyborg tried to resist and break his foot loose Kurayami stomped hard on his back causing Franky to cough up blood and become forced to stay in place. The foot started to bend as you could hear the loud snaps of Franky's ankle echo through the deck. The blue haired cyborg helplessly squirmed underneath Kurayami's foot as screams of agony erupted from his throat. The screams continued until his foot finally bent back to complete wrong way as one more whimper was heard from Franky before he gained control of his voice once again.

"It's not as durable as I thought." He said with no emotion in his tone. There was no disappointment, no excitement or amusement... nothing but cold emptiness. Kurayami started to reach for the other ankle as Franky lay there in pain, gasping for breath. However, before he could continue any further Chopper's yell was heard and made him freeze in place.

"STOP!" The small reindeer screamed at the top of his lungs. His face was full of terror mixed with furious anger as his eyes were wild with the mix of emotions. He gritted his teeth together with all his might before throwing a rumble ball in his mouth as he bit down on the second of his yellow pills. "Rumble! Horn point!" He transformed into a beast resembling a reindeer with huge, strong looking antlers as Chopper charged at the man.

….

Hawkeye heard the yelling from across the deck as he fought against Yusuke. He glanced over towards where it came from and saw that there were already two of the Straw Hats on the ground, seemingly out of the battle and severely injured. From the way they were yelling, their fight didn't seem to be going good for them. After seeing the danger they were in, Hawkeye attempted to run in their direction and try to help somehow. However, before he could, Hawkeye was stopped by Yusuke who swung his hand at the hawk demon, forcing him to stop what he was doing and block it.

"Trying to escape our battle to help those weak little humans?" Yusuke sneered, amused yet annoyed at the man's actions. "You are such a pitifully arrogant king." The purple haired demon stated before pushing Hawkeye back. After Yusuke stopped him, the hawk demon knew that he wouldn't be able to go over there... He just had to believe in the crew to handle themselves on their own... There was nothing he could do.

….

"No! Don't do it! Chopper!" Usopp shouted with a terrified, shaking voice after witnessing what Kurayami was doing to Franky. There were falling one by one again... Just like what happened with Oars on Thriller Bark. He couldn't let that happen again. Usopp couldn't stand the thought of feeling the same terror he did back then once again as so many of his nakama fell one by one.

Despite Usopp's pleads Chopper didn't stop. His mind was too focused on the rage and terror that he was feeling to hear anything around him. When Kurayami saw the reindeer coming he whipped Franky away from him, his body hitting the railing as he let out a small shout, coughing up blood. Luckily, he fell back on to the deck and not overboard. However, the railing was now bent and nearly completely destroyed from the impact.

Without even caring where he sent Franky flying to, he calmly reached out and grabbed Chopper's horns before they made contact. It was as if the reindeer hit a brick wall. He stopped in place, Kurayami not even sliding back an inch. The reindeer tried to push harder against him but no matter how hard he pushed that man wouldn't budge.

Quickly changing his tactics, Chopper switched from his reindeer looking form to a more human one. He stood on his two back legs and the size of his arms grew having huge muscles on them. "Arm point." He stated, his voice sounding a bit calmer now. Once his horns shrunk Kurayami was forced to let go and as soon as he did, Chopper stuck his hooves together and sent a strike at the demon. "Koku tei cross!"

He thought he had finally gotten the man when he felt his hooves connect with something, however, he was dead wrong. The man had simply grabbed the reindeer's arm and blocked the attack with his other hand. "No way..." Chopper said quietly as all the hope fleeted from his voice. "Just how strong is he...?"

Before the doctor could do anything else his body was whipped to the ground with an incredible amount of force. Chopper's head was what hit the wood first and the deck cracked from underneath him as the force of his head hitting it made yet another huge dent in the ship. Blood rushed out of Chopper's head almost immediately as he coughed up blood on impact, shrinking back down to his brain point... You didn't have to be a doctor to tell that his head had split open.

Chopper was somehow still conscious after that impact. He took a ragged breath in causing Kurayami to notice that he was still alive. Before anyone could stop him, Kurayami placed his foot on top of the little reindeer's chest and grinded his heal into him. A loud snap rung in everyone's ears as the small doctor cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face. Another snap followed soon after and another as his ribs started breaking one by one.

"STOP IT!" Luffy screamed in horror as he witnessed what the man was doing. When the demon heard the pleading cry he simply started to push harder as Chopper's screaming intensified, the floor starting to break even more underneath the doctor.

"GUM GUM PISTOL!" Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs as his stretched out fist hit Kurayami's chest with just enough force to push him off Chopper. In that split second of distraction Usopp swooped in and grabbed the now unconscious little reindeer away from the man. He ran away with incredible speed, able to get out of the way before Kurayami noticed he was there. The demon was focused on Luffy now.

The rubber man had managed to climb to his feet but everyone could tell that he was using all of his energy just to stop himself from falling over. "YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU!?" Luffy continued to scream as tears fell down his cheeks. Seeing such horrible things happening to his nakama... Luffy just couldn't bare it.

He coughed vigorously after yelling so loudly gasping for air and trying to catch his breath. Kurayami just watched the show until Luffy was finally able to take deep inhales and stop coughing. However, even after revealing to the enemy just how injured he was, the burning rage in Luffy's eyes didn't fade.

Then, the captain shakily bent forward and lightly pressed his knuckle on the ground. He started pumping his blood faster as his body started to slightly glow red. "Second Ge-...!" Luffy was about to announced looking up at the man with piercing eyes but stopped halfway through, his body turning back to normal along with the blood flow.

The Straw Hat remembered what happened the last time he used the technique with deep slash wounds like he had now in his fight against Zoro. He remembered how much the technique made him bleed... Luffy glanced at the stab wound on his chest, watching as the blood dropped from the injury and on to the floor. If he used that technique with an injury so close to his heart... He would surely die.

In the same split second that those thoughts ran through Luffy's mind, the captain stood back up to fight without using that technique. Despite not using it, the rubber man still had incredible speed. He was able to get behind Kurayami as he adjusted his fist and aimed it but before he could fire the demon turned around to face him with speed that far surpassed Luffy's. The punch did hit something, but it was caught by Kurayami's huge hand.

"I wonder why you didn't use that technique of yours..." Kurayami stated, again, emotionlessly. His soulless eyes looked curiously at Luffy, who gritted his teeth together with all his might in frustration that his attack didn't connect.

Kurayami examined the rubber man's body, his eyes locking on the drips of blood coming from his chest. The demon then spun Luffy around before slamming his fist into the captain's chest, his body crashing into the deck at the same time. It hurt even more than before due to the dark aura around Kurayami's fist... And because he still had the deep sword wound that Zoro had given him.

The impact of the deck shaking Luffy's body caused the Straw Hat to let out a small shout in pain, the wound throbbing unbearably now. His already weakened body felt even heavier after his wound reopened further, something he hadn't noticed until Kurayami sent him flying to the ground. The blood form his chest wasn't just dripping anymore, there was a constant stream of the thick red liquid coming from his injury now. The captain's chest and stomach were now covered in his blood, a small puddle of it quickly starting to form underneath him.

"LUFFY! STOP MOVING AROUND!" Robin shouted in horror when she saw how much blood Luffy was losing and how quickly. The captain placed his hand on his chest to try and slow the bleeding so he could continue fighting but it wasn't working. He just kept on losing more and more blood until eventually Luffy turned pale and started to shiver.

"W-Why... Why's it so cold...?" Luffy muttered as his teeth clattered together, his entire body shaking as well. It felt as if he was in an ice bath. Not only that, but the room was spinning quickly around him. He felt so dizzy that it was sickening, it was taking everything Luffy had not to throw up. He couldn't move a muscle.

Kurayami slowly approached him. Robin, Usopp, Brook and Nami all too petrified with fear and disbelief to move, their eyes opened widely. The demon stopped close to Luffy, towering over the injured rubber boy. When he noticed the blood leaking from his chest the man bent down and examined it closer.

"I see... So you didn't do that technique of yours because it wound have reopened an old injury." Kurayami analyzed carefully, deducting that reasoning from the events that just took place. "You seem to have lost a lot of blood... I wonder just how much a human can lose before they die." The demon stated reaching his hand down and sticking it inside of Luffy's wound, just deep enough so that it wouldn't touch the heart... That's not how he wanted the rubber man to die. It would ruin the experiment.

Luffy's breath hiked when Kurayami stuck his hand inside of the open wound. The raven haired boy brought his two hands up quickly and gripped on to Kurayami's arm to try and pull it out of his injury. Luffy felt the sharp stinging pain spread through his body as his face twisted up in agony. As if it wasn't already bad enough, the demon used his strong hand to start prying open the cut in Luffy's skin. The darkness going into the open wound and intensifying the already unbearable pain even further.

The rubber man's grip tightened on the demon's arm while he shouted out in pain loudly, Kurayami slowly forcing the already deep injury open wider and wider. Everybody on the deck could hear Luffy's skin slowly ripped and popping open as blood started to splatter everywhere, getting all over Kurayami's hand, face and body as well.

With every popping sound that Luffy's skin made as it was ripped open wider, the Straw Hat's scream would turn into a choke. Slowly, his screaming started to become quieter as the rubber man started to lose even more of his energy, not having enough to even scream in pain anymore his hands fell back down to his side. Dark circles started to appear underneath Luffy's eyes as the light in his gaze started to fade until multiple arms sprouted from the ground and grabbed onto Kurayami's.

"Luffy!" Robin shouted towards her captain. She used all of her might to pry Kurayami's hand from Luffy's injury, all the hands that sprouted from the deck started to shake from the strain of trying to keep the demon's hand away. To her surprise Kurayami started to pull his hand away cooperatively, his focus now shifting to the hands that sprouted from the ground.

"The power to grow hands...? That could prove to be quite a challenging power to deal with." He stated as if Kurayami had already won the battle before it even began. "However, if I am correct in assuming they are connected to the main body then it has one major flaw..." Kurayami continued grabbing one of the hands and snapping its wrist backwards in one fluent motion before Robin could even react. "It leaves you completely defenceless."

Robin shouted in pain as she heard the loud snap of her wrist, the hands disappearing into flower petals as if they were never there. As she was shouting and closing her eyes from the pain, Kurayami disappeared and reappeared behind her. He still had such a strange emotionlessness in his eyes, as if he could do anything without remorse or regret.

Robin knew that he would appear behind her as new hands sprouted from the man's back and held onto his bicep as it was perched back and ready to hit Robin with. Despite the excruciating pain that she felt in her wrist, unable to even move it at that point since the bone had been popped out of place as well as broken. She still used the arm to try and restrain him for as long as she could manage.

"Listen." The archeologist strained to say since all of her energy was going towards stopping Kurayami's arm and stopping herself from yelling out from the unbearable pain she was feeling. Even though there was noticeable panic in the woman's tone you could still hear that same elegant calmness she always had. "Get Luffy out of here! Stop the bleeding!" She told her fellow crew mates.

Usopp, Nami and Brook looked at each other in horror and fear at what was happening, unable to understand or process the brutality that was taking place. They knew Robin couldn't hold him back for long, especially since she just got her wrist snapped so they all scattered despite their mental state.

Usopp, being as quick as he was bolted for Luffy and carefully picked him up. Always keeping his eyes on Kurayami he took Luffy further away from him and put his captain next to Chopper, standing guard in case he tried to go after his nakama again even though they were injured and unconscious. From what he just saw, Kurayami would definitely do something like that.

Nami ran inside the infirmary as quickly as she could. She scrambled around grabbing anything the even remotely looked like gauze or something that would be able to stop blood and brought them all over to her captain, who was now lying behind Usopp after being taken further away from Kurayami.

While the two others started to scramble, Brook slowly unsheathed his blade looking at the demon in front of him determinedly. "I will not let you harm any more of my nakama!" The skeleton announced to the man confidently. Though he was scared like everyone else, he knew this was not the time to show it.

After a few more seconds, Robin couldn't help but to let go of the man's arm. The pain was too much for her to bear and the strain made it even harder. However, she bought enough time for Luffy to be safe. The hands disappeared into flower petals again and she prepared for the impact of the man's fist to connect with her but it never came. Only the clinging sound of metal was heard ringing through her ears.

When she reopened her eyes, she saw the backside of an afro in front of her as his skinny arms shook from the impact of the man's amazingly strong fist. Though he slid back a bit, he was able to hold the fist there. "Are you alright Robin-san?" Brook asked with an intense tone, ready to fight back against the incredibly strong man in front of him.

She wasn't quite fine, but compared to the others who took a blow from Kurayami... At least she was conscious. "I'm alright. Thank you, Brook." The skeleton turned his head for a moment to give Robin a nod, forgetting that Kurayami had another hand that he could attack with while the other was being held by the musician's sword.

With it, he grabbed Brook's weapon tightly and threw it in the opposite direction. The force caused Brook's body to twist and open up to the demon in front of him, leaving the humming swordsman completely defenceless. Kurayami clenched his fists and punched at all of Brook's open bones causing them to crack and break on impact, eventually, sending his light body flying across the deck until it hit the floor and skidded to a stop. "Brook!" Nami shrieked from behind Robin. She had loaded both Chopper and Luffy with gauze, her hands now covered in their blood.

Seeing yet another nakama go down, the navigator climbed back to her feet and took a shaken step away from the demon in front of her. They just couldn't win... There was no way they could win... Kurayami was defeating them all one by one... It was impossible... The navigator's mind raced faster and faster as the demon started to approach Robin. "Stop! You already broke her wrist!" Usopp shouted desperately, but the demon just seemed to ignore him.

Robin scrambled back trying to get away from the man, only able to use one hand to push herself away. Panic started to take over her expression the closer he got to her, she knew that if he caught hold of her, it was over. She just couldn't crawl fast enough, without even trying Kurayami had gotten in front of her. Robin placed her one good hand in front of her body and closed her eyes for a weak defence as the man slowly reached towards the archeologist.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A ragged, strained voice echoed through the deck with fiery rage. "How dare you hurt Robin-chan...? You'll pay..." Everyone left conscious on the deck whipped their heads towards the sound of the voice, seeing a bloodied, staggering Sanji now standing. He was holding his stomach tightly, wiping the blood that was stained on his mouth and still leaking out as he talked.

"Sanji!" Usopp gasped in shock when he saw the man was back on his feet. After taking a blow like that... How could he still be standing...? As soon as that thought ran through Usopp's head, Sanji coughed up a spurt of blood as his grip on his stomach tightened, his hand shaking as he tried to stop the pain.

"Sanji... Just stay down..." Nami whimpered. She didn't want to see him get hurt again... He already looked so injured. If he continued, he could die. Especially being up against an opponent like Kurayami... He wouldn't be killed quickly, it would be slow and painful if he got his hands on the blonde.

"Ass hole... I'll be your opponent from now on. Forget about the rest of these people..." Sanji forced from his mouth trying not to cough, he knew if he did more of his blood would be lost. He didn't like ignoring such a beautiful lady like Nami, but he couldn't listen to her either. This was something he had to do.

"Sanji please!" She shrieked more desperately this time as Kurayami started to approach the injured cook. They stood close to each other, neither retreating even a single step as they stared each other down.

Thinking that Kurayami had dropped his guard Sanji took a shaky swing of his leg at the demon's side only to have him catch it easily. "You should have listened to that girl..." The man stated before punching at Sanji's stomach once again. As soon as the hit connected the cook hunched over and threw up more blood, letting out a shout in pain as he wrapped both of his weak arms around his stomach.

Kurayami didn't even use enough force to knock Sanji back. He knew little taps like that would be more than enough. If he used the same force as he did in his first blow the blonde would surely die. There was nothing interesting about that. Seeing how long a human can stand for... Now that seemed more entertaining.

Sanji struggled to stay up and stumbled around as he groaned weakly in pain, refusing to let himself fall down to even one knee. He had been knocked down enough by these shitty demons, the cook wasn't going to let them do it to him again. This time, he was going to stay on his feet and fight...

"So that wasn't enough to drop you...?" Kurayami stated softly and thoughtfully to himself becoming quite interested in the man that was standing in front of him. He was sure any other human would have fallen unconscious. "Tell me, are you a human?" Kurayami finally decided to ask.

When he heard the question Sanji lips curled into a cocky smirk. He slowly raised his head, staring at the man directly in the eyes. The look that the cook had on his face, made Sanji seem like he believed he was better than the man in front of him despite being weak from his injuries. "I-I'm... no ordinary human... What I am... I-is your worst nightmare..." He said with a shaking voice as he chuckled, though the chuckle was mixed in with some coughing the cook still kept the same expression on his face.

The other Straw Hats were dumbfounded by Sanji's words, their eyes widened as they stared at him in surprise. He was able to say such strong words at a time like this, where all hope was lost. The cook still made such a cocky remark as if he had nothing else to lose. His nakama could tell there was a certain strange acceptance in his expression. And it was that acceptance that worried them the most.

"My worst nightmare...? There is nothing in this world that could be as such." Kurayami said tonelessly, a picture of a dark, gloomy, small room flashing in his mind as he said that and the familiar voice of a child crying rung in his ears. When that image appeared, a small spark of anger ignited in Kurayami though his expression and tone remained the same, his attacks became more brutal.

Noticing that Sanji was now protecting his stomach, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around it, Kurayami decided to aim for other parts of his body. He punched the cook's face repeatedly, going for his shoulders and anything else he could hit as well in rapid succession.

The cook tried to move out of the way but the ripping pain in his stomach caused his movements to be slowed, making it impossible for him to get anywhere quickly. He kept on getting hit until he was forced to take his hands off his stomach, trying to block the other areas of his body and use them as support for when he kicked but as soon as he did, a hard punch connected with his stomach again. This time it was even harder.

Blood shot out from the cook's mouth as soon as the punch connected, before Sanji could even regain his balance or even place his arms back around his stomach... Before he could even cry out in pain, Kurayami gave his stomach another quick couple of punches.

Blood was leaning out of the cook's mouth like drool now, a never ending stream down his chin and splattering on the floor to form a deep puddle of red. The light in the cook's eyes were gone. Kurayami finally let up as Sanji stumbled backwards and forwards weakly. He swayed as if he was about to fall before finally forcing himself to stop stumbling around. He still swayed like a drunken man, but he was on his feet.

Sanji raised his head slowly to look at the demon again, his whole body shaking vigorously. After all of those punches the cook's face was now blackened with bruises and bleeding in a lot of places along with some other parts of his body. The cook's vision was so blurry that he couldn't make out anything around him, they were all just blobs of colour in his eyes. He was in so much pain... The cook felt so lightheaded. The only thing that kept him upright was his unwavering determination. Just barely able to stand there, he kept on facing the enemy.

"Tell me... Where is that cocky tone you used before...?" Kurayami questioned as he looked into Sanji's eyes, able to tell that they were unfocused on him. The cook didn't respond, he couldn't. His mouth and throat were full of blood. In response, the cook raised his leg and sent a very weak kick at the blur in front of him. His leg was easily blocked and swatted away by the demon causing Sanji to stumble again.

"Sanji! If you can still move you have to run!" Usopp shouted loudly at his nakama. The cook seemed to be just staring blankly at the ground at this point, as if he had fallen unconscious while standing up.

The sniper desperately wanted to jump in and save him... He wanted to rush into danger and save the day like the great hero he had always strived to be. However, he knew that with his current strength if he tried, he would definitely die. His knees were shaking so much... His heart was racing faster than it has ever done before. It was hopeless, there was nothing he could do to help Sanji...

The cook stared at the ground clinging to his consciousness with all his might. Everything was spinning, he felt sick and his stomach felt as if it was mush at this point. Sanji tried to move... He twitched his fingers and his legs were shaking but he couldn't move any part of his body anymore. He could only stand in place and watch as he was killed by the demon in front of him.

Sanji could hear his nakama shouting at him from the sidelines, telling him to run and save himself but they sounded faded, as if really far away. The corners of his mouth rose slightly at the irony of telling him to run, even if he wanted to... He couldn't. The cook pushed his upper body upwards so he was no longer hunched over, turning his head weakly to his nakama.

He could hear the demon's heavy footsteps approaching, becoming louder as his death became more of a reality by the second. Using all of his focus, he was able to make out his nakama... They were all looking so scared. They were all crying... He knew now how Zoro felt when he saw his nakama this way...

Sanji wanted to tell them not to cry over him. Not to be so scared for him. He wanted to tell them to let Kurayami kill him and make their escape with the rest of the crew while he does. However, he couldn't say anything... Couldn't even give his nakama any last words. Faced with that despair, the cook placed the brightest, biggest and warmest smile he could on his face.

Nami, Usopp and Robin widened their eyes at the cook's sudden smile. They knew exactly what he was trying to do for them by doing that... The archeologist brought her hands up to her head, gripping her hair tightly. Sanji was going to die... And when he did, all of her other friends would as well...

She couldn't handle that again... Robin had just found new friends that she trusted with her life, ones that accepted her for who she was. Friends that didn't call her a demon child, that didn't wish for her death and that would do anything to protect her. Faced with the possibility of experiencing the same pain of losing everyone she cared about again... Was something Robin couldn't handle. Breaking down, she couldn't find her voice to say anything.

"Please..." The navigator whispered, her voice becoming more desperate and fearful as the demon approached Sanji who only stood there, giving her that smile. "H-Help..." Tears started streaming heavily out of her eyes as Nami started to cry, seeing the man now only inches away from Sanji. If nobody interfered soon... Their cook was going to die. Somebody had to step in... Somebody had to save him... And... there was one name that came to her mind... "H-H...el...p... M...e... Z...o...r...o...!" She struggled to say in between sobs.

Kurayami pulled back his fist, aiming for Sanji's stomach with one more hard blow. Surely, that would kill him right away and then he could move to the others. However, before his fist connected with the weak looking cook's stomach, Kurayami's shoulder suddenly started to bleed as the red liquid jetted out like a pump and dropped onto the ground. The demon grabbed the open wound and stumbled back in shock, not even knowing himself what had hit him.

The Straw Hats stared blankly at Kurayami in confusion. Sanji slowly turning his head back to the demon as his forced smile faded to a surprised expression. Standing in front of him was a green blur... Unable to focus completely on the man... He could see that he looked strong though. Strong... And confident... It could only be one man... Roronoa Zoro.

"Idiot... Look how beaten up you are..." Zoro said softly in a warm tone, though the cook could hear that he was suppressing his rage. There was a small pause as if the swordsman was waiting for a response, but none came. Sanji's eyes just blinked closed only to be forced back open.

"Don't have anything to say...? Well... I think I like you better that way." Zoro said trying to sound like he was teasing the cook but the situation was so tense that it turned out just being really obvious that he was hiding his worry.

Sanji would have said something back to Zoro if he could but he was too tired and injured... He couldn't risk opening his mouth and losing any more blood... Sanji's consciousness was finally slipping against his will, even harder to hold on to it now that he was no longer in danger. He had a nakama he could trust in front of him, to protect him.

As the cook's consciousness faded Zoro turned his head to look at him. Sanji saw the swordsman's bright red eyes through his blurry vision. However, even though they were red, his eyes were different from all those times before. They weren't cold, dark or full of bloodlust... These eyes were warm, determined and burning with rage. At that moment... Sanji knew the swordsman was finally able to control his demon...

The cook gave Zoro a small, relieved smile before closing his eyes and starting to fall back. Before the cook's body could hit the ground, Zoro caught him and held him tightly in his arms. Using his inhuman speed, he appeared beside Nami and Usopp in a flash, gently bending down and laying the cook out on the ground carefully.

"It's my turn to protect you now..." Zoro muttered in a barely audible tone as he gently let go of the cook. The swordsman's eyes wandered around to the rest of the Straw Hats. He saw all of his nakama terribly beaten and most of them unconscious... Zoro took one more look at Sanji's battered body before turning his back to the rest of his crew mates. "Take care of him..." He requested from them quietly as the swordsman took a step forwards. "I promise... This won't take long." Zoro stated, biting down on the Wado with his fangs as his eyes glowed red and darkness enveloped each of his swords.

**((Author's note: Woohoo! I've been looking forward to writing this fight for so long! I hope the final battle doesn't disappoint! The next chapter will be out as soon as possible))**


	17. Pride

# Pride

**((Author's Note: Again with the making you poor people wait! I'm horrible! But this time something devastating happened... I was like a quarter of the way in and then my phone was dumb and lost it all! I raged and didn't have the heart to touch it for a while but I did it and now I'm alright lol. So, sorry about that again. I hope you like the chapter!))**

Nami nodded weakly in response to what Zoro said, whipping away the tears from her eyes gently. He actually came... Zoro was here and his demon was under control. Everything was going to be ok now... Nobody was going to die.

She had been faced with udder despair so many times. Seeing her nakama slowly falling and getting injured was a painful sight… and a horribly painful feeling. However, because Nami has been in those deepest, darkest times of despair... She also knows very well when that one bright ray of light is going to shine through it all. This time... that light appeared just in the nick of time.

She could tell that Zoro was much stronger than he was before. Nami could tell just by looking at him. His aura, the look in his eyes, the way he was standing and gripping his katana... Everything. Not only that, but Zoro said that he would finish it quickly. As if he was shouting out a statement of confidence, or telling Nami a promise. It was a promise that he made not only to her, but to himself. He was going to win... That was certain.

...

Hawkeye and Yusuke's battle was beginning to intensify. They attacked each other at an amazing speed yet neither of them could land a hit. Green and black aura crashed, exploding outwards on impact and causing giant shockwaves to fill the deck one after the other.

One particularly strong slash caused the two of them to lock weapons, staring at one another. Yusuke had a strangely large smirk on his face while Hawkeye was cool and collected, calmly assessing his opponent along with the situation. The raven haired swordsman was about to load up for another strike when suddenly Yusuke pulled his hands away and stopped fighting.

"Hold on a second, King Mihawk." Yusuke sneered with an amused tone. "Things seemed to have gotten quite interesting... I know you felt that aura too..." He let out a small chuckle as the shadow demon slowly turned his head towards Zoro.

"That man is still alive! It seems that he was actually capable of defeating his inner demon! Isn't that marvellous!?" Yusuke asked this time whipping his head over to Hawkeye. "You must be curious! This is the first time a half demon has been in control! Don't you want to see the extent of the power a half breed in control has!? I say we put our fight on hold and watch..." The purple haired man's grin widened as Hawkeye contemplated his proposal.

"As you wish..." He finally stated lowly, sheathing his magnificent black sword once again and crossing his arms calmly. 'Good thing he showed up when he did... This man's got the devil's luck.' The greatest swordsman thought to himself. 'No... Luck is not the only factor here...' A small grin formed on Hawkeye's face as he continued thinking.

'Roronoa is quite extraordinary as I predicted. Though to this extent... He definitely surpasses my expectations.' The man looked up intently watching Zoro's every move, waiting for the fight between him and Kurayami to begin. 'Now show me once again, what that strong heart of yours can do...'

...

Kurayami slowly turned to face Zoro, his eyes this time didn't look as calm and void of all emotions. This time... He had utter shock and somewhat fear twisted up in his expression. "Impossible! You!? A human defeated your inner demon!? Absolutely ridiculous!" The giant man shouted staring at Zoro with burning hatred. "Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! What did you do!? Tell me!"

"What did I do...?" Zoro echoed lowly with even more built up rage, ready to explode and ready to incinerate his opponent. "I should be asking you that!" The swordsman shouted with a growl, pushing off the ground with all of his might. The sheer power he had in his legs leaving a small creator in the wood that he pushed off of.

Like a flash of light, Zoro appeared in front of Kurayami once again. He flung his katana at the demon with all of his might, having him just barely dodge and get a small, shallow cut on his side. This time, it was Kurayami who was being overwhelmed by his opponent's speed and power. He just couldn't keep up.

"Tell me! What did you do to Franky!? His foot is bent the wrong damn way!" Zoro yelled as he sent a barrage of slashes at Kurayami, continuing to shout and scream as he did with pure anger and hatred, letting all his pent up frustration out onto his opponent.

"What did you do to Chopper!? His head's covered in blood!" The slash was just barely dodged, cutting Kurayami's cheek as he leaned back to avoid the slash. "Luffy too! The injury on his chest is reopened and bleeding!" Zoro's slash this time barely missed Kurayami's chest, another thin, shallow slash cutting across it. "Robin and Brook... Their bones both look broken!" The green haired swordsman this time slashed at Kuraymai's arms, more small cuts appearing on the demon's skin.

Tightening the grip on his katana, and with the rest of his pent up rage he raised his voice even louder. "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DID YOU DO TO THE COOK TO MAKE HIM SMILE LIKE THAT!?" Shouting out, the dark aura surrounding his katana exploded outwards and became like a huge flame. Zoro lunged forwards with all his might, aiming to pierce through Kurayami's stomach with incredible force and speed.

Nami has never seen Zoro yell like that. He's always been the type of person to keep his anger quiet when fighting, letting his blades do the talking. He was never the type to shout like that when he fought, anger usually only clouding his judgment and making his swordsmanship less refined.

However, this time it's almost like he exploded. Like he needed to take his anger out on something, anything or else he'd go crazy. She didn't blame him either. Nami felt the same way... Seeing all of her nakama injured like they were and being faced with the man that did it to them. After everything Zoro had gone through it only made sense that this would be the result.

Nami could see that even if the fight was hard to keep track of. Everyone could only see flashes and hear Zoro's yelling during this entire barrage but finally things cleared up when they stopped moving. The sight that everyone saw was the swordsman's katana held in Kurayami's stomach, but not very deep. The giant demon was covered in some other shallow wounds as well that only dripped a bit of blood. Zoro's sword was also being held tightly by Kuraymi's hand which was bleeding a bit, but the aura stopped any major damage from being done.

The green haired swordsman panted heavily after shouting and slashing with all of his might like that, small beads of sweat dripping down his face and dripping off of his chin. Zoro now was gritting his teeth tightly together, his katana only shaking when he tried to move it up due to Kurayami's intensely tight grip.

"Are you finished, Roronoa...?" Kurayami asked his voice low and threatening. It seemed like he was finally able to regain his composure, which wasn't good news to Zoro. However, after that, he too had started to calm down. "What I did to your friends... Was a simple test. I wanted to see just how durable humans are." He stated plainly.

"Let me get this straight..." Zoro started, the small fading flame that was Zoro's rage now having more kindling to start up once again. "You tortured my nakama... For some shitty experiment!?" The green haired swordsman looked up at the shadow demon with intense eyes, a gaze that could burn right through you. This time, keeping his anger contained.

Kurayami's aura suddenly intensified as the two black auras collided with each other, both trying to overpower the other. "That's right... I'll break and destroy every last human... So I might as well do a bit of, research, along the way." The shadow demon stated as if he got some sick pride in saying that. After hearing that, Zoro ripped his katana from Kurayami's grip and took a few calm steps back.

"I see... If that is how you feel... Then I can't let you leave this ship alive." The green haired half demon stated threateningly as his aura started to grow stronger and bigger once again. "I'll end you right here and now!" Zoro pulled back his sword and stared at his opponent with piercing red eyes.

He then quickly whipped his katana at the man as a giant flying slash hurdled towards him. However, this was different than all the other flying slashes Zoro had used before. This one was much bigger, much faster and a black aura was surrounding it as well. "108 pound... demon cannon!" He chanted as the blast hurdled towards Kurayami in the blink of an eye.

The shadow demon knew that a blast of that size and speed was impossible to dodge. He needed to block it, that was the only chance he had. So, strengthening his own aura, he stuck his hands out in front of him as the giant slash made contact. A huge shockwave whipped through the deck on impact as Kurayami slowly started to slide backwards.

Using all of his strength, he pushed on the attack and tried to disperse it but it was just too powerful. Letting out one last shout and push, Zoro's attack overpowered him and sent his hands flying away. Kurayami was left helpless with his entire torso exposed to the attack.

The flying slash hit him dead centre and Kurayami was blasted against the railing. The slash cut and devoured him from the inside intensifying the pain along with the damage done. The giant demon smashed into it hard and slumped down, unconscious with blood leaking from the giant gash across his chest.

Any normal human would have been cut clean in half by that attack, but Kurayami was able to apply and strengthen his aura in the area of impact just in time to reduce the damage... That was the reason why he was still alive.

The deck became strangely silent afterwards. Everyone stood in udder shock after seeing the events that just transpired; the only sound heard were the waves crashing against the ship along with Zoro's heavy pants in exhaustion. However, the air was very quickly filled with something else. The sound of loud clapping...

"Splendid! Absolutely magnificent!" Yusuke shouted over in a sly tone, continuing to clap as if he had just finished watching a Broadway show. "I'm impressed! You were actually able to defeat that giant oaf! Bravo!" He laughed a bit sadistically before he finally let his clapping fade.

Keeping his anger at bay this time, Zoro took a deep breath and turned to Yusuke. His panting finally stopped and he was finally able to catch his breath again. "Hawkeye..." Zoro stated, as if Yusuke wasn't even there. He thought that he had felt a familiar aura within him. He wasn't sure exactly who it belonged to but with the man standing right in front of him it was obvious.

"Why did you help me?" Zoro questioned, looking at the man he had sworn to surpass. They were enemies after all; Zoro's literal meaning of life was to kill that man. They had fought in the past and Hawkeye had given him the huge scar across his chest. Sure, he didn't kill him that time and acknowledged his strength but he would never expect the man to actually save him. So why?

"To kill time." Mihawk answered suddenly with such simplicity. Yes, those words sure were nostalgic to hear but for such a simple reason as that he went out of his way to save him? Well... It was true he did follow somebody even out of the Grand Line for those same purposes. It was Hawkeye. He was if nothing else, a simple man.

"I see... I'm in your debt." Zoro muttered to the raven haired swordsman. The debts to this man were just piling up now... First for not killing him and now for saving his life. "I'm grateful that you saved me, but please, let me be the one to fight Yusuke." The swordsman requested respectfully, his gaze meeting with the black haired swordsman's.

Hawkeye stared into Zoro's red eyes, seeing nothing but strength and determination inside of them. His mind was finally clear once again and void of anger that could cloud his judgment. However, he could also tell that the swordsman was exhausted. All of his previous injuries still weren't healed and he also knew how draining fighting with aura could be... So, he didn't know if letting Zoro fight not one, but two opponents was really the best idea. Even if he wanted to.

"He's my responsibility..." The green haired swordsman stated a bit more forcefully this time. Hawkeye widened his eyes a bit when Zoro said that. Just that one statement made him understand exactly what he was thinking and solidified his own resolve to let him have what he wanted. Hawkeye didn't know Zoro as well as his own nakama of course... But with somebody so black and white he wasn't that hard to read or pick up on...

Everybody on the deck knew that Zoro thought he was responsible. He shouldered all of the blame for all of the hardships that the crew had gone through. Even after being told he was forgiven, he still would never forgive himself unless he cleaned up his own mess. He had to be the one to defeat both of the demons. If it wasn't him, he wouldn't be able to move forwards from this.

He needed this closure, this one last battle to prove to himself that things would never be like that ever again. That he'd never cause his nakama such pain, such despair and such worry ever again. That he would never hurt them and could protect them. Zoro had to prove to himself that he was stronger now.

"You have my word... I will not involve myself in your fight." Hawkeye's finally responded calmly, gently closing his eyes and starting to walk towards the other crew members on the deck to show that he would be out of reach to interrupt. However, as he started to walk, Yusuke's grin sprawled from ear to ear.

"Did you really think that I would just let you walk away, King!?" The purple haired shadow demon shouted as he appeared behind Hawkeye, about to strike at him. Though, despite the impending danger the man didn't even turn around... He simply just kept on walking calmly towards the other Straw Hats.

As Hawkeye expected, before Yusuke's hand could reach him it was stopped by Zoro's blade as a loud clash was heard. "Did you really think that I'd give you the choice?" The swordsman stated calmly as he pushed Yusuke back. The purple haired demon took a step away from Zoro and started to chuckle.

"'Did you really think I'd give you the choice...?'" Yusuke repeated in a mocking tone as he started to chuckle a bit more. "How adorable... A little half breed like you thinks he's all high and mighty now!?" The purple haired demon's tone started to become a bit louder.

"No! Maybe that's not quite right!" He suddenly shouted, his smile widening and becoming darker. A sickeningly dark smile that was full of bloodlust... "Think about it! JUST THINK FOR A MOMENT! Not only did you defeat you inner demon... NO, NO! You also defeated a full demon!" Yusuke started to yell in a sly, crazed tone. It sounded like the man had lost his mind.

"There's no way that you can be half human! THERE'S JUST NO WAY IN HELL!" Yusuke started to laugh manically, holding his stomach as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "THAT'S RIGHT! A human couldn't do all that! NO, NO, NO! Maybe, just maybe you're something entirely different!? Like a monster, or an angel, OR EVEN A GOD!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs with an almost desperate tone, laughing a crazed, twisted laugh that sent a chill down the backs of the entire ship.

As if a completely different person had taken over him, Yusuke suddenly stopped laughing and calmed down. He removed his hands from his stomach and had the same amused yet controlled look in his eyes once again. "That's right... You can't be human, Roronoa... So, what exactly are you...?" He muttered, staring at Zoro and waiting for an answer.

"What I am... Is your greatest nightmare." Zoro stated calmly and coldly, with blatant hatred in his tone. The man had truly snapped if he thought that the swordsman was some sort of God... Those didn't exist in this world. Angels, gods, monsters, all just fairy tales told to kids at night before they fall asleep...

"My greatest nightmare...?" Yusuke echoed the man's answer as his amused smile grew wider, though this time there was a twinge of anger in his expression and tone of voice. "Very funny... No such thing exists in this world!" He stated with an absolute tone, as if there was no way in hell his statement could be argued.

At that, Zoro had nothing else to say. Nothing else he could say would change the man's mind; he'd just have to show him. He'd just have to force Yusuke to see how strong he was and to regret that he let him live this long. Pumping the dark aura back into his swords he leaped towards Yusuke and slashed at his chest, only to be blocked by one of the demon's hands.

"Eager to get started are we?" Yusuke sneered with a dark chuckle in anticipation. He was so looking forward to crushing Zoro's hope yet again. Showing him a glimmer of happiness and light only to crash back into the same darkness he was in before. Yes... That was the true feeling of agony. Just thinking about putting the swordsman through that made Yusuke lick his lips in anticipation.

Zoro used the sword in his other hand to try and find an opening in Yusuke's defences but every slash just kept on being batted away easily by the man's hand. The swordsman knew he was going fast, he knew his attacks were strong, but the man just had that same effortless smile on his face.

"Your aura will have to be stronger than that to defeat me. Maybe this level was enough for Kurayami... But it will never work on a truly powerful demon." Yusuke warned as the slashes continued, seeing Zoro remain calm even after he was batting his attacks away so easily just made him all the more exited. The tougher he is to break, the more satisfying it will be when he does.

"If that's the case..." Zoro closed his eyes and focused his energy into his blades. It took a bit of straining but when he snapped his eyes back open he slashed his katana at Yusuke once again. This time, the aura was much bigger and caused Yusuke's eyes to widen.

He didn't bat the slash away so easily this time. Yusuke tried to block it but started to slide backwards on the deck. Reacting quickly he rose his other hand and pushed against the blade to try and swat the attack away. It was no use; Yusuke had to actually strengthen his own aura just to bat the attack away a little bit, still having the tip of the blade graze his cheek.

Yusuke breathed heavily when the attack had finally been blocked, though Zoro was breathing much heavier, his eyes were full of confidence and fire. It was like with that one attack he had finally won... Like finally being able to slash Yusuke was all he needed to never let go of hope again. Nothing could possibly enrage Yusuke more.

Bringing his hand up to his cheek, Yusuke whipped the blood that was dripping down his face away. "Oh? What's this I see?" The purple haired demon began to tease. "You think you can win now? Just because you could slash me...?" Yusuke let out his signature crazed laugh, moving his hair away from his face as he did. "None sense."

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. Still remaining calm, he took a deep breath and made sure to keep the intensity of his aura up to where it was. He wouldn't take Yusuke's baiting, and that calmness made Yusuke even angrier.

"What...? You think you're strong now!?" The purple haired demon snapped at Zoro. "Do you think that you couldn't possibly lose this fight!?" Yusuke's aura intensified even further as he stepped towards Zoro. Raising his hand, he karate chopped his hand towards Zoro's chest as if it was a sword. It took effort, but Zoro was able to bat the attack away while still keeping the same blank expression.

Another swing of Yusuke's hand came along with more and more as he continued to bat the barrage of attacks away. "Even if you were a god it wouldn't matter... That would just make me the devil himself! A devil that's able to slay God with his very own hands." Somewhere during Yusuke's constant swinging, Zoro started to wince at every clash.

Trying to hide it from his enemy, he gritted his teeth together with all his might and pumped his aura as strong as it would go before pushing Yusuke back to end the barrage. As soon as it ended, Zoro started to pant even heavier, gasping for air as sweat streamed down his face and dripped onto the floor. His body... Suddenly felt so heavy. It felt as if every muscle weighed a tone and the aura around his swords started to flicker off without his consent. "What the hell...?" The swordsman whispered to himself, gripping his face as he tried to recompose himself.

"So you're finally feeling it...?" The shadow demon asked as his sadistic smile widened. The man looked so cocky and overjoyed, it pissed Zoro off... "I thought it would be about time, you had a lot more endurance than I expected. I knew that you would just need one last push." The man cooed with delight as he shrugged a little.

"What are you talking about...?" Zoro asked threateningly, giving Yusuke the same piercing gaze as before. Despite feeling the way he did, he still wouldn't submit to Yusuke. He was going to win. He had to win and that was a fact. Waiting patiently for an answer, he continued to take deep inhales to try and fill his lungs with air again.

"Did you really think you could just turn into a demon and perfectly control everything? Like it was some sort of epic power up to defeat me?" Yusuke shook his head as if disappointed in the green haired man's assumption. "Well I guess you aren't completely wrong... Though, there's one issue." The man extended his finger and pointed at Zoro's blades, still enveloped in the dark aura.

"You've been pumping that aura out at full force this whole time, haven't you?" He asked, continuing without even waiting for Zoro to respond since he already knew the answer. "It takes many years of experience to fully control your aura. At first it always takes so much energy out of the user that they usually end up collapsing if they use too much of it. It takes a lot of training to be able to use so much power without losing energy. Right now, your aura still feeds off your energy." He explained as Zoro widened his eyes in realization. There was no way he knew how to control it so that wouldn't happen...

"Aura is like a parasite if you don't know how to fully control it yet. It sucks away at your energy until there's nothing left, then sucks at your life force until that drains completely too." Yusuke could imagine that happening, Zoro collapsing to the ground from exhaustion, completely defenceless. That was a sight he wanted to see... Maybe for added pleasure while Zoro couldn't move, he'd have some fun with the swordsman's nakama before killing him...

"However, when you get good enough at it the aura doesn't demand as much energy anymore and you can fight at a higher level for much, much longer. Too bad for you, since you're so new at using your aura while under control." Brushing his long hair back, Yusuke chuckled and waited for Zoro's response.

Though his body still felt as heavy as lead he slowly took his hand away from his face. Thanks to the man's rambling at least Zoro was able to catch his breath. "You talk a lot..." Was all the swordsman commented, as if he didn't care what the man said at all. "But... I guess that's a good thing since it gave me some time to catch my breath." Zoro added, standing up straight and tall once again.

"If this drains my energy so quickly, then all I have to do is beat you before I collapse from exhaustion..." Zoro stated plainly as if the answer was obvious, as if the idea was going to be so simple to execute that there was nothing to worry about. He pointed his katana in the purple haired man's direction taking one more deep breath before intensifying his aura once again.

"Pitiful half breed... Hanging onto your 'hope' even though you know it's useless..." With that, the two of them ran at each other. They exchanged blows but neither of the two got any significant damage done to them. Each clash sent strong shockwaves throughout the deck as the remaining crew watched Zoro in awe of his amazing new power.

Though they were worried about what Yusuke said, seeing Zoro able to keep up with that man just made them unable to believe it. Even now after he was so exhausted before he's still on equal footing with Yusuke... But something was wrong. Yusuke seems so much calmer than he was before. Considering how he reacted to Zoro being able to defeat Kurayami, why is he so cool with Zoro being able to keep up with him...?

Though it was strange they pushed the thought away. Yusuke was crazy, there was no point in trying to analyze this strange man's sadistic and weird mood swings. That's all they were... Mood swings... Right? There was no need to worry.

Or at least that's what they believed. However, Hawkeye knew better. He knew exactly why Yusuke was so calm and that was what worried him the most. But he gave Zoro his word that he wouldn't interfere, so he wasn't planning to. If the man died, then he would die. Hawkeye wasn't about to strip Zoro of the honour he withholds with such determination.

So, he simply let the battle rage on. After a long exchange the two of them finally locked onto each other for a stalemate. Zoro's katana were pressed against Yusuke's hands as the two of them pushed on each other, fighting with bruit strength to try and push the other into making an opening.

The green haired swordsman was breathing, so heavily now that it sounded like he was chocking. He took large gasps of air to try and fill his lungs but it was as if he was constantly being winded when he was using his power. His chest felt tight and Zoro started to feel lightheaded as well... The aura was really starting to take its toll on him but he couldn't give up now. He just had to defeat Yusuke and it would be over... That was all.

Letting out a small shout he pushed his aura to become even bigger as Yusuke started to be forced to take a few steps back. His expression started to become a bit strained but it was still strangely calm, almost amused.

Even more sweat started to drip down Zoro's face now as be pushed with all his might for his aura to become as big as it would get. Finally, it exploded outwards as he pushed Yusuke's hands apart leaving his chest wide open for a strike. The swordsman was about to strike the opening and finish it but suddenly, he couldn't move his body. Zoro's eyes widened as his legs collapsed from under him and he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"ZORO!" Nami screeched at the sight of her nakama collapsing to the ground. Why? Yusuke was wide open, all he had to do was slash him. Was Zoro really so exhausted that he couldn't even lift his own katana anymore? Why did he have to collapse at that very moment...?

Suddenly, Yusuke's laugh broke through Nami's shock induced trance as he slowly walked over to the collapsed swordsman. "You almost had me there! If you only could have lasted just a couple seconds longer. Oh well, what a shame." The purple haired demon shrugged and chuckled coldly. "You just pushed yourself to the very limit to get me to separate my hands didn't you? Maybe that wasn't the smartest plan..." Yusuke chuckled yet again watching as Zoro closed his eyes shut tightly, trying to focus on his breathing.

"Having trouble there...?" He asked excitedly as he roughly kicked Zoro's stomach. Like a rag doll, the swordsman's body rolled away, not listening to what Zoro wanted it to do. He felt like someone has tied him to the ground, but he knew that there were no ropes there...

"I know it must be hard to breathe when your lungs don't even have the energy to contract and expand." Zoro reopened one of his straining eyes to see Yusuke standing over him with a big smirk, slowly licking his lips as he had done many times before when he felt overly excited. "I told you that it would drain all of your energy... But of course, you didn't listen."

The purple haired demon slowly raised his foot and placed it on top of Zoro's neck. He then pressed down hard and grinded his heel into the swordsman's windpipe. Zoro's eyes widened as he started to make pained choking sounds, his eyes flashing from red to their original colour for a split second. "I guess it's not fair since this really isn't helping you breathe easier." Yusuke said in a mocking tone as he heard the pitiful attempts for Zoro to get air back into his lungs.

Leaving his mouth open in a desperate attempt for air, his eyes widened in desperation. "Zoro!" Nami screamed getting up and desperately trying to run over to him, only to be grabbed by Usopp before she had the chance.

"Are you insane!? If you go over there you'll only be killed!" Usopp snapped at her. He desperately wanted to go over there and help as well but if Zoro couldn't take him on even in his demon state there was no way they stood any chance. Whipping his head over to Hawkeye he glared at the man accusingly.

"Why don't you do something!? You can defeat that guy right...? Please... Help him!" Usopp stated forcefully, his legs shaking after being so forceful with such a powerful man. He could kill them if he felt like it, he had ruthlessly slashed Zoro in the past after all... He was nowhere near an ally of theirs. But he was the closest thing to it that could defeat Yusuke.

"I gave him my word that I would not interfere..." Hawkeye stated plainly, suddenly having his collar grabbed by the young, hot headed orange haired woman. She glared at him with such anger in her eyes that for a moment, he truly believed that she was going to punch him.

"Even if you promised him, how could you just watch like that if you know you can do something to help!?" Nami cried as tears forming in her eyes. "We aren't strong enough to help him right now... There's nothing we can do for him... So... Please... Save him... Just one more time...!" The navigator cried, her voice sinking down to a quiet whisper at the end as she slowly let go of his collar.

"Why are you under the impression that he needs to be saved, girl?" Hawkeye said blandly, with no emotion and with the upmost confidence that what he was saying was pure fact. "I suggest you calm down and watch... Weren't you the ones who said that he could win in the first place?" He reminded her, as Nami turned around to see what was happening with the fight to see if the man was right.

When she did, Nami saw Zoro's hand slowly raising off the ground and gripping onto Yusuke's ankle tightly. Though it took all of his might, he was able to rip the man's foot away from his neck and roll away just in time. The swordsman coughed vigorously and gasped for breath once again, whipping the spit from the sides of his mouth.

"So you still have the energy to move? You truly are inhuman. Such monstrous endurance shouldn't be possible..." Despite his words, Yusuke sounded calm and confidant as he watched Zoro grip his katana tightly once again and sway back onto his feet. Continuing to gasp for air, even standing seemed to drain him of his energy now.

"Though, I guess it should be expected from you now." Yusuke sighed with a small chuckle as Zoro was finally able to push himself to stand up straight once again. Though he tried to look like he was ready for another round, Yusuke could tell that a small breeze could probably knock him off his feet at this point.

"I can tell you're in no condition to fight." Yusuke stated as he walked over to Zoro, this time, he had an almost bored expression on his face. "Now, don't struggle too much or else I'll kill you too quickly. I want to take my time and enjoy myself a little." The purple haired demon said smoothly as a wide, sickeningly bloodthirsty smirk sprawled across his face.

Yusuke got very close to Zoro, but before he could touch him the swordsman's blade weakly whipped by the shadow demon's head. He had tried to stab his face but because he was so slow from his exhaustion, Yusuke was easily able to dodge it. "Go to hell..." The swordsman growled. Despite his situation, he still had fire in his eyes.

"So ferocious!" Yusuke exclaimed, mockingly amused at Zoro's actions. He easily pushed the katana aside and grabbed Zoro's chin, raising his head so their eyes met. "I hate that fire I see in your eyes... They looked so much more beautiful filled with despair and anguish." Yusuke cooed as the swordsman gritted his teeth angrily at the man's words.

"Let go of me..." Zoro muttered threateningly, raising his arm slowly to try and slash at him only to be hit hard in the stomach. The little air that he had in him escaped as the swordsman coughed up blood, stumbling back but somehow managing to stay on his feet.

"Tisk, tisk. We can't have you trying that again now can we?" Yusuke shook his head as he examined Zoro up and down, trying to decide what to do with him. There was so many ways to torture him... Every idea that popped into Yusuke's head just sounded so delicious, he couldn't decide what to start with.

Deciding to start with what sounded the most painful, Yusuke slowly started to reach for Zoro's arm when suddenly a piercingly loud yell broke through to the two demons. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Nami shouted, her hands cuffed around her mouth to project the sound of her voice. "You promised that it wouldn't take long...! You always keep your promises right!? So stop wasting time and get your act together!" She said desperately as she closed her eyes and waited for a response.

"Heh... Damn... And just when I thought I wouldn't need my crew's help anymore." Zoro muttered to himself amused at his own pitifulness. Narrowing his eyes, the aura came back to his katana even stronger this time. His body was able to move again at the same speed as before as Zoro whipped his katana at Yusuke once again, but this time it was just barely blocked in time as the man skidded back. Such power shouldn't be possible for somebody as exhausted as Zoro was... So how? There was only one way it could be possible.

"What is this...!? Are you seriously voluntarily going to use your own life force to fuel the demon's aura!?" Yusuke raised his voice a bit in shock at the green haired man's resolve. He knew that using his own life force would take years off of his life after the battle and if he used too much of it, it would easily kill him.

"Well I don't really have much of a choice now, do I?" Zoro responded calmly as he pushed against the man's hand once again causing him to slide back as he increased the intensity of the aura around his katana. With that, he was able to swat Yusuke's hand to the side and slash the purple haired man across the chest.

Blood jetted from Yusuke's new slash wound and dropped on to the ground, some splashing on Zoro as well. The purple haired demon widened his eyes as he grabbed the new deep slash wound. He slowly took one of his hands off of the injury seeing how much blood came from his body and onto his hand.

"Insolent human! How dare you!?" Yusuke suddenly snapped as he raised his head to look into Zoro's eyes once again. "I hate those eyes! I hate them! How dare you think you're better than me!? How dare you think that you, a mere half breed, is stronger than me! YOU WILL DESPAIR BEFORE ME! YOU WILL EXPERIENCE ENDLESS ANOGY IN MY PRESENCE!" Yusuke shouted as he kept his hand pressed against the wound across his chest.

"Watch and experience the ultimate realization of your imminent doom!" He shouted when suddenly Yusuke's dark aura enveloped his entire body once again. The aura started to gather around his back and head when two jet black wings sprouted. Along with the wings, two long horns formed from Yusuke's head. The horns started straight up, then curved down and to the sides before curving up once again. The white in Yusuke's eyes also turning jet black.

Zoro widened his eyes at the purple haired demon's new form, feeling the intensity of his aura even from where he was standing. "What the hell... Is that...?" He muttered more to himself than anyone else, though it seems that Yusuke heard him since he responded.

"Every powerful full demon has a second form! Did you not know that?" Yusuke teased as he shot Zoro a smug smile seeing how utterly shocked he looked at the revelation. "It's quite simple really. Only the elite demons have learned to use this second form. Be grateful since not many people have actually seen me this way... In fact, I'd say you're the third." He explained watching as the swordsman tried to take in exactly what he was being told.

A second form...? Yusuke was already so powerful to begin with and now Zoro had to accept that he wasn't even at his strongest this whole time. There was no way he had enough life force to match the intensity of that aura either. "It's too bad that you're a half demon!" The purple haired man teased. "Half demons can't even dream of obtaining a form like this!"

With that, Yusuke launched himself at Zoro. Without using his usual form of attack, Yusuke clenched his fists and started wailing on the green haired swordsman before he could even raise his katana to defend. Every punch was like being hit by a truck as the never ending barrage didn't seem to stop, even long after blood started pouring down Zoro's face.

With every grunt of pain Yusuke's smile seemed to get wider as he laughed manically. "That's it! That's it! Despair! Despair! Feel the agony of your utter hopelessness!" The purple haired demon shouted excitedly. After a long while, the shadow demon finally got bored of punching Zoro, letting the swordsman finally drop down to his knees.

Zoro stared at the ground as his vision focused and unfocused feeling the warm, red liquid drip down his face and onto the ground. Clenching his katana tightly, the swordsman brought his hand up to his face and whipped off the blood in his eyes using his wrist before trying to climb back to his feet once again.

"Do you see now, Roronoa? Do you understand that you could never dream of being as powerful as a full demon like me!? Are you ready to give into your pitiful hopelessness!?" Yusuke asked as he watched Zoro try to stand. It took him a couple tries to find his footing but once he did, he was able to push himself back onto his feet. Though he swayed a lot, he was still up. And that's all that mattered to him.

"Give into my pitiful hopelessness? Sure, maybe half demons usually aren't as strong as full demons... But I know that I'm stronger than you at the very least." Zoro responded with a cocky smirk, watching as Yusuke's smile dropped. It was almost strange seeing the man not smiling, though it seemed that Zoro had stuck a nerve with his last comment.

"You... You still believe that you're stronger than me...? You still believe that you can win this fight...? NONSENSE!" Yusuke stomped back over to Zoro quickly closing the distance between them as he raised his hand and started reaching towards the swordsman until Zoro thrusted his katana towards Yusuke's face. It was aimed for his eye, but before it could connect Yusuke grabbed it with his free hand.

"I've made you despair before... And I'll do it again." Yusuke said in a sly tone, though there was obvious burning rage underneath his usual amused, cold and calm tone of voice that he uses. Coating his hand with his dark aura, Yusuke used his incredible speed to literally reach into Zoro's shoulder. Yusuke's hand easily pierced though the swordsman's skin, causing Zoro to widen his eyes in shock and pain. The attack came so fast he didn't even notice what hit him until the immense pain took over all of his senses.

Zoro let out a small choking noise as blood spilled from his open wound and onto the floor. The swordsman tried to move Yusuke's hand out of his shoulder by slowly lifting his other arm to pull the purple haired demon's arm out, but he refused to move it. "Painful?" Yusuke asked, his smile now back on his face.

Zoro gritted his teeth and tried to pull his hand out again but it refused to budge. Deciding that Yusuke was dumb for closing the gap anyways, Zoro simple rose the sword in his other hand over his head to slash it down on Yusuke. When he was about to, there was a sudden immense pain that ripped through Zoro's entire body, similar to what he had felt when the demon was taking over beforehand.

It caused Zoro to yell in pain, unable to move the sword any longer. The swordsman's entire mind just blurred as he waited for the pain to go away, but it wouldn't and he didn't understand why. Suddenly, it hit him when he saw Yusuke's bloodthirsty expression. He seemed very pleased to hear Zoro's shouts in agony.

"There we go! That's better~! It's nice to hear such noises coming from you once again." Yusuke sneered. He was using his aura and spreading it throughout Zoro's body but since his demon was under control it had a bit more of a simple effect this time. It didn't power up his inner demon to take control again, all what Zoro got was the excruciating, and devouring pain felt when the aura of another demon enters your own body.

The swordsman tried to hold back his screaming into quieter grunts but when he finally managed to do so, Yusuke intensified the power of his aura causing Zoro to let out a chocked yell. "STOP IT!" A scream was heard from the sidelines when Zoro's eyes started to roll to the back of his head. Yusuke whipped his head over towards source of the shout seeing the long nosed man panting heavily, his knees shaking and sweat dripping down his face. He knew that Hawkeye wouldn't do anything, so he had to be the one to step up. Better him than Nami after all...

"Stop what?" Yusuke teased as his smirk widened, slowly pulling his hand out of the hole in Zoro's shoulder as the swordsman fell to his knees once again. He gasped for breath and placed his hand over the open shoulder wound to try and stop the bleeding. After all that, Zoro was still holding onto his katana. "Stop hurting your little half demon friend here?" He asked pointing to Zoro who was still trying to recover from what just happen. He looked absolutely terrible. Exhausted, in pain and now a bit pale...

"That's right!" Usopp shouted again, knowing that he had to buy Zoro some time to recover though he couldn't stop shaking no matter how hard he tried. "If you even touch him one more time you'll have to deal with the great captain Usopp!" The sniper shouted trying to sound proud and confident but everyone could hear his voice shaking. Tears were even forming in his eyes as he tried to face the man.

"Oh? Does another human think he's better than me?" Yusuke asked, though this time he didn't seem angered by that fact. This time, he was actually amused and entertained that somebody with Usopp's strength was trying to stand up to him. Though it was amusing, it was also greatly insulting to him. It was definitely an action that couldn't go unpunished.

"If that's the case..." He started walking away from Zoro and towards Usopp only to be stopped when the back of his foot was grabbed by the man behind him. Yusuke slowly turned around with a disgusted look on his face as the weak swordsman looked up and stared into his eyes. Though he practically used Yusuke as a balance to stand up, he stayed holding on as he climbed to his feet.

"You're my opponent." Zoro stated firmly to the shadow demon in his grip. The way he sounded made him seem like he was giving an order to a lower level demon and expecting him to do it. The swordsman still sounded completely superior to Yusuke even after what just happened.

"Opponent...? What gave you such a strange idea? You're too weak for me to ever be your opponent... I'm just your executor." Yusuke sneered with a dark, sadistic chuckle and he forcefully ripped Zoro's hand away from him so that the swordsman couldn't use him as balance anymore. Despite his balance being ripped away Zoro remained on his feet, able to balance on his own despite his weakened legs that threatened to collapse under him at any moment.

"Funny... Just a moment ago I was kicking your ass enough to make you transform." Zoro commented with a sly, cocky grin. That comment made Yusuke widen his eyes as veins popped out of his forehead due to his extreme anger. However, despite that he still kept a smile on his face. Though this time it was filled to the brim with rage and absolutely crushing bloodlust.

"Kicking my ass...?" Yusuke started to laugh uncontrollably. However, this time the laugh held no humour in it what so ever. It just had burning rage and sarcasm in it, nothing more. "YOU PITIFUL FOOL!" The purple haired man yelled as he dashed towards the swordsman. "I'll make you understand the extent of my power by grinding your bones into dust!" His hands were coated with a dense dark aura once again.

Zoro widened his eyes when he suddenly felt a hard punch under his chin as he went flying upwards without even realizing what hit him. More blood leaking from his mouth now as Yusuke watched Zoro fly with a widening smirk, hearing his friends shout his name with worry. However, when he spotted Zoro's flying body he was still holding tightly onto his katana despite his weakened condition. He had no intentions of giving up.

With an amusing chuckle, Yusuke pushed off of the ship and left a crater on the deck causing the entire boat to rock as he pushed off it. When he saw the shadow demon coming towards him he focused to try and keep track of his movements this time, coating his swords in darkness once again. When Yusuke saw this, his smile dropped just a bit.

"You just don't get it." He muttered as he flung past Zoro. The swordsman was able to turn around just in time but his chest was slashed deeply by the demon's hand before he could bring his katana up to block. Blood bursted from the wound as he came hurdling back to the deck. This time he completely broke through their first floor and crashed to the lower level.

With amazing reaction time, Robin was able to sprout her hands to catch the swordsman before he could crash through that as well and sink the ship. Though the sheer force he fell at still caused the basement floor to crack and Robin to yell in pain as her hands took on the intense force. Zoro coughed up blood as Robin's hands disappeared into flower pedals, her already broken wrist now looking even worse.

However, Zoro had no time to thank her. He didn't even have time to think. Trying to stumble to his feet once again, using the walls of the ship as support, Yusuke landed gently and gracefully next to the struggling half demon. The swordsman's entire body was shaking now as blood dripped like heavy rain from his wounds.

"Does it hurt, Roronoa Zoro?" Yusuke asked with sadistic glee seeing how much the green haired man was struggling to just climb to his feet. The dark aura around his swords was now starting to fizzle out since he was even starting to run out of life force now. Digging his shoulder into the wall he forced his body to its feet once again, his swords still firmly gripped in his hands.

Yusuke finally noticed that small detail and look at Zoro's hands with disgust. "Why are you still holding onto those?" He finally asked seeing the swordsman's hands were shaking from just holding the weight of the swords now. "Do you really think you can still win this fight?"

"These katana... are my p-pride... I'm a... a swordsman. Dropping these... would mean that I also... drop everything I've trained so hard to obtain... I'd lose everything... I've worked t-towards." He struggled to explain in a low, raspy voice. Every time he opened his mouth to speak a bit of blood leaked from his lips and down his chin.

"If I kill you, you'd lose all of that anyways." Yusuke tried to convince the idiotic man. What he said made no sense to him. Being strong and powerful was everything but you couldn't do that if you were dead. So why would he face him even after showing Zoro the disparity in their strengths.

"I'd rather die with my pride intact. If I somehow survived after dropping these katana, I'd have nothing left to live for anyways..." Zoro said determinedly, a small, exhausted and almost forced smile pulling at the sides of his lips. Sure, he had his crew that needed protection. But a swordsman was easily replaceable anyways. He couldn't do anything without his katana or his dreams as well. He'd be completely worthless and only drag the crew down.

"Alright... then I'll just crush your pride into smithereens before I kill you!" Yusuke went at Zoro again but this time, instead of going for his body, he went for Zoro's spirit... His katana. Widening his eyes the swordsman now in pitiful desperation sent a flying slash in the demon's direction to try and slow him down. Once it was sent, Zoro used the wall to slowly walk forwards without falling.

As predicted though, Yusuke had dodged the slash and was now next to Zoro, aiming for his katana. With his heart pounding once he saw that Yusuke had aimed for the Wado he desperately moved out of the way and sacrificed his own body to protect it. Being hit in the back caused Zoro to break through the wall of the ship and cough up blood as he fell to his stomach. Having no time to get up, Zoro desperately clawed at the ground to get away and go towards the stairs.

"Look at you..." Yusuke muttered as his slow and steady footsteps got louder and louder, echoing in Zoro's head as they approached him slowly. "Crawling on the ground like some worm. Where is the pride in that...?" The shadow demon asked in disgust though he couldn't help but laugh when Zoro gritted his teeth together in frustration, pretty much admitting to Yusuke that he was right.

Zoro tried to pull himself forward once again but before he could, Yusuke had lifted him from the ground by the neck and held him up a few inches in the air. Having no more energy, Zoro hung by his grip, motionlessly gasping for breath that wouldn't come due to his windpipes being held closed by the strong grip. When the swordsman tried to feebly raise one of his shaking katana Yusuke squeezed tighter, adding his aura to his hand so the devouring feeling that now spread throughout Zoro's throat increase the pain 10 fold.

The swordsman let out small gasps, unable to make any pained cries due to his lack of oxygen. His lungs now burned almost as much as his throat as if they had been set on fire. "Yes... That's it." Yusuke said with a slurp as he slowly licked his lips. "I love that pained expression on your face!" He whispered darkly, bringing his face close to Zoro's to lick to blood from the swordsman's chin.

"It's such a waist to kill you in seclusion like this..." He talked to the chocking figure that was in too much pain to respond or even listen to Yusuke's words. "Yes! I think it would be even more entertaining to let your crew watch as your dream gets shattered in front of them!" He said and laughed harder, pushing off the ground and jumping to the deck through the hole Zoro had created when he crashed into it.

When they resurfaced into the view of the Straw Hats, everybody's eyes widened at the sight. Zoro was covered in blood and his skin was turning even paler. He was also being held up by the neck and unable to breath because of Yusuke. "Zoro...!" Robin exclaimed through a pain stricken voice, her hands and arms bloodied and smashed.

"I thought you all would like to enjoy the show as well! You see, I was told that these katana of his are worth his life!" Yusuke explained as he looked back at the Straw Hats with a wide smile, stoking the back of the Shusui's blade gently as he spoke. "So I thought I'd shatter them... Wouldn't that be fun?" He asked, watched as his nakama's expressions changed to pure horror.

"Now... I have a hard decision here... Which should I start with!? There are so many to choose from!" Yusuke exclaimed excitedly. "This one is a nice black blade... Looks very well crafted..." He analyzed moving on to the next. "I like the feeling of this one... It has a certain darkness surrounding it!" The purple haired demon said leaning down a bit to get a closer look at the Kitetsu. Then he suddenly paused as his gaze snapped up to the one resting in Zoro's mouth, looking as if it was about to fall out any moment.

"And then there's this one..." He gave it a closer look as his smile widened ever so slightly. "I wonder why he only ever puts this one in his mouth..." He questioned out loud as the Straw Hat's hearts dropped. They knew how important that blade was to Zoro… especially after hearing the full extent of his past. That katana belonged to the dear friend that he killed, the friend that he promised he'd fulfil his dream for. If that blade was ever broken, they weren't sure how Zoro would react. Speechless due to the shock and terror there was nothing they could do to stop him, scared that if they even breathed he would shatter the blade in an instant.

As if reading everybody's thoughts, he grabbed that Katana while coating his hand in darkness so he wouldn't get cut. "This one must be his favourite then? No? It makes sense since before he even used his own body to shield it from a blow he knew would break it. It's like he'd rather break his bones than let me break one of these pieces of sharp metal." Yusuke scoffed at the thought, unable to understand it.

"There's just something about this one... That he seems to be so attached to..." Yusuke chuckled as he looked up at Zoro's face. He was still suffering from the lack of oxygen, his mind must have been fuzzy by now. Though, he needed Zoro to be alive to watch his pride shatter. Or else it wouldn't be any fun at all just breaking it while he was unconscious. He needed to see his expression fall into udder despair and sorrow the moment his treasured katana broke. So, he let go of his neck just enough to let Zoro breath as he took a gasp of air staring to cough uncontrollably.

Gasping desperately for air once again, he was finally able to open one of his heavy, exhausted eyes as it adjusted to see what was going on. As his eye adjusted and his mind processed the scene he saw Yusuke's hand clasped around the Wado with a sadistic smile on his face. Zoro's heart started to pound as he desperately tried to lift his hands to stop him. But it felt like somebody was holding them in place. He was unable to raise them to stop Yusuke.

Too out of breath to speak his eyes widened with pure shock and terror. Zoro tried to coat his katana in darkness to protect it but his life force was now too weak to generate anything strong enough to counter Yusuke. Even giving his life wasn't enough now to stop him... He was only able to watch now as Yusuke did whatever he wanted. "Now... Roronoa Zoro... What was it you said before? Something like... 'If I dropped these katana... I'd have nothing left to live for...?'" He asked slowly as he tightened his grip around the Wado.

**((Author's note: Well that was fun to write! I hope my writing of fight scenes have been ok so far! It's actually pretty hard to do for me lol. I also ran into some writer's block on the way as well. But it's done! Sorry about the cliffhanger haha! Please review and tell me how you're liking it! The next chapter will be out as soon as possible!))**


	18. Human

# Human

**((Author's Note: Another insanely long wait = another chapter! This fanfiction is too close to its end! Heeeelp! ;-; I never thought I'd actually finish writing this thing! It feels like just yesterday I was writing the outline to this story... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!))**

Zoro shifted his gaze dangerously over to the powerful full demon. He saw Yusuke's slender yet powerful hand clasped around his precious sword, the sword that once belonged to his childhood friend. That sword meant everything to him. It was his treasure; it's what drove him forwards through thick and thin. It was also a reminder of the promise he had made.

All of that... Was about to be shattered right in front of his eyes. 'Yes... The sword is yours.' Koshiro's voice echoed in Zoro's head as he remembered when he was handed that sword, when he was handed the last thing Koshiro had to remember Kuina by. He had already done so many terrible things, he couldn't let Kuina's precious sword break. He couldn't let the last thing he had left of her shatter...!

Desperation flooded throughout his body as he widened his eyes. His whole body started to shake as he tried to force his arms or legs to move. He would do anything to stop Yusuke from breaking the Wado. He couldn't let him break that sword...!

'Tell Zoro... That... h-he'd better... keep the promise... we... made...' Zoro could hear Kuina saying those words to his sensei, picturing the image of her life slowly fleeting away. Her last words... And she spent them on making sure he didn't give up on life, that he didn't give up on his dream.

"K... Kuina..." Zoro chocked out as he strained his arm and was able to lift it using all his might. That sword can't break... He'd rather die than let that sword break. He needed more power... If controlling his demon wasn't enough to stop Yusuke he'd just have to get stronger!

'I leave her spirit and her dreams in your hands.' That sword held Kuina's spirit, it held her dream! Koshiro entrusted Zoro with that precious katana because he believed in him that he'd take care of it, he believed he'd become the world's greatest swordsman with that sword. He wanted to defeat Hawkeye together with Kuina and that would be impossible if that sword broke.

With that in mind, thoughts rushed through the swordsman's mind and buzzed around in his head. 'I was finally able to control my demon... After all of this time. I did it... And for what? Just to lose now to this man...? To let my crew die anyways? That can't be right. No... It isn't right... I'm helpless for the 3rd time this fight... FUCK! I'm still so weak... I need more power than this. There's no point in controlling my demon if it doesn't give me to power to defeat this man! If being half demon and half human makes me weak... Then I'll just let my demon half take over more of my body!'

He needed to be stronger... He needed to be able to protect his friends, to protect his dream. If his energy and life force wasn't enough he'd find a different way to win! If being a half demon wasn't enough... Then he'd let the demon consume his other half.

That's when a sudden burst of powerful black aura exploded out of Zoro. The energy was so powerful that it caused Yusuke to wince in pain and let go of Zoro, causing the swordsman to fall back down to the ground and land on his feet. He kept his head down as the black aura seemingly started to go out of control just like it had in the past.

However, this time it was different. Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the sudden burst of energy that Zoro was emitting. Sure it was powerful, very powerful... It was way too powerful to be the aura of a half demon... But, somehow he was still in perfect control. The aura was being emitted at a constant, calm and controlled rate. It didn't fluctuate like when he was out of control and there was no thirst for blood coming from the green haired swordsman.

"I don't get it..." Yusuke grumbled a bit frustrated. "You gave it your energy... You gave it your life force... There should be nothing left! What did you possibly give it this time!?" Yusuke shouted as he heard a feint chuckle come from the swordsman as he slowly raised his head.

"Simple... I gave it my human half." Zoro stated simply as his cocky smirk widened a bit further. When his face was revealed half of his face was covered in black markings that looked like tiger stripes. The black marking went all the way down his arms and to each finger, spreading over exactly half of Zoro's body. In addition to that, the eye on the side with those markings now resembled Yusuke's as the white in it turned a dark black color. His fangs also grew in size, now looking huge and dangerous.

"That's not even possible!" Yusuke snapped angrily, to let the demon Zoro has controlled devour his human half would be incredibly painful. He was sure there would be lingering side effects after the battle from doing that and he was already in horrible shape after willingly giving his energy and life force.

"Don't joke with me!" Yusuke shouted as he pushed off the ground towards Zoro. He whipped his hand towards the swordsman with all his might as the half demon slowly raised his katana. The attack seemed to be blocked with little to no effort as Zoro gave Yusuke an amused chuckle.

"Your moves are a lot slower now..." He muttered excitedly as he pushed Yusuke's hand to the side. The other demon then reached for Zoro again with his other hand aiming to slash his throat but before the hand could connect it was swatted away by the katana in Zoro's other hand. "I don't know exactly how I did it... But..." A power hungry grin enveloped Zoro's expression as he threateningly shot a piercing glance at Yusuke. "I like the feeling of this power rushing through me... I feel absolutely invincible!"

In another blink of an eye they were back to fighting again. The two of them were finally on equal footing once more, at least from what the other Straw Hats could make out. They could only see blurs whip by them and around the deck hearing the sound of clashing steel. Finally, after a bunch of clashes the two of them stopped. Surprisingly, it was Yusuke that was out of breath this time. Even though Zoro looked tired and he was sweating as well, that confident smirk was still on his face.

"I can see why you think so highly of full demons. This is fun!" Zoro chuckled mockingly as his smirk widened. Something was so satisfying in the fact that he was finally able to fight toe to toe with the man in front of him. After so long, being able to slash the man was just so overwhelmingly... Exciting.

The other Straw Hats could see the joy in Zoro's eyes. Though they knew he was in control, they could tell that the feeling of such God-like power was consuming him. The thought of revenge and the hatred that he felt towards that man was clouding the swordsman's empathy and human qualities.

Though they knew Zoro was a proud man that didn't like fighting for those reasons, they also knew his friends were always the acceptation to that rule. It was as if this time he truly turned into a full demon. Not the bloodthirsty, out of control monster that he was before. However, still heartless and power craved. They would stop him... But they just couldn't. They'd be lying to themselves if they didn't feel the same hatred towards the man as Zoro did.

"Looks like it's over for you." Zoro muttered, his eyes glazed over with hatred and bitter anger for the man panting and sweating in front of him. "Doesn't feel too great being on the losing end of a fight, right?" The swordsman muttered, twisting his blade so that it was facing towards Yusuke's throat as the purple haired shadow demon just stayed unmoving, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong...?" Zoro mocked as he took a small step forwards, narrowing his eyes at the man. "You're usually so talkative, cat got your tongue?" He snarled, gritting his teeth together and digging his foot into the deck below him as he tightened his grip on the katana in his hand. "If you don't speak quick... You won't have a chance to say any last words. Not that you deserve them." The swordsman muttered as he pushed off the ground and whipped his katana towards Yusuke's neck. "Goodbye... Pitiful demon."

Blood splattered all over the ground and splashed on Zoro's face and hands. However, it wasn't the blood of the person he expected to see. Standing in front of him was a much taller person which also had a much more muscular figure. His skin was darker too, his hair short and black. "You...?" He muttered as Zoro's eyes shifted down to where his sword was. It had slashed horizontally through one side of his chest and almost cut him straight through, stopping around the left side of his chest.

All the tall demon could respond with was some pitiful chocking noises. His eyes were wide open and you could see the pain in his expression as blood leaked out of his mouth at a very fast pace, like he was a fountain. "Mas...ter..." He muttered in a barely audible tone, his voice horsed as he vomited blood with a cough.

Everybody's eyes widened in the realization of seeing the man's assistant throw himself in the way of a fatal attack for Yusuke. Even Yusuke's eyes had widened slightly, the rest of his body covered in just as much of Kurayami's blood as Zoro's, if not more. After a small pause Yusuke finally let out an almost nervous chuckle, "Saying goodbye already...? Daring to call me pitiful...!? You celebrated too early, Roronoa. You caught me off guard there, but you no longer have that luxury!" The demon muttered lowly, with a cocky yet exhausted ring to his tone.

Through the chocking, Kurayami struggled and managed to say a few, very faint words before losing consciousness. "M-m...as...ter... I'm... I'm... So...rry... I failed... To protect... You... Bet...ter..." The demon muttered, coughing up blood again as he spoke, trying to shift his pain written, red gaze to look as his savior just one last time. "Th...thank... You... For... For..." Tears started to stream down the strong looking demon's eyes as his gaze started to glaze over. "For... Making... My life... Have meaning..." He was able to whisper with the last of his fleeting life.

Zoro could tell Kurayami was suffering from the pain, but that suffering ended very quickly as the stream of blood flooded the deck. Zoro swiftly pulled his sword out of the man's chest as Kurayami's limp body fell face first on to the puddle of blood, unmoving, only being held together by a small string of flesh that attached his upper body to his lower body. The body was a complete unrecognizable mess, even some organs showing through the deep slash wound. Looking up at Yusuke, the man seemed absolutely expressionless. A reaction that was impossible to read.

However, that impossible to read expression soon turned to a sickeningly joyful smile as Yusuke looked down at the mutilated corpse of his servant. "Good job, Kurayami!" The man praised him as if that's all he needed to say to thank the man for sacrificing his life for him.

Whipping the blood from his eyes Zoro narrowed his gaze at Yusuke once again, refusing to feel bad for the demon he had just killed. He tortured his nakama after all. He deserved to suffer in death. "You brainwashed him well... To jump in the way of my blade for you." Zoro muttered as he waited for Yusuke's answer. Suddenly, the man started to laugh.

"He's a real lamb ain't he!?" Yusuke finally spoke, now his breath was caught and the madness of the purple haired demon seemed to be getting worse with each passing minute of the battle. "I can finally say that I had chosen right when I decided to bring him along! At the very least he was useful as a shield! Only in death could he finally be worth something!" Yusuke laughed his eyes wild and crazy as he looked at his dead servant's mortified bloodied body.

"Even though this guy deserves no empathy... It's still sickening that you don't care about a man who cared enough to sacrifice his life for you." Zoro growled lowly in resentment, such mixed feeling now buzzing around inside of him. However, the fact he tortured his nakama still kept Zoro's hate running strong.

"Of course I don't care if he dies..." Yusuke corrected, his smile dropped to an annoyed scowl. "I merely used him and now his usefulness is at an end. He's now just a broken tool... Though it was entertaining to order him around and have him do my bidding. Manipulating the little lad into doing whatever I said was indeed fun so yes, that loss of entertainment means something to me." The demon explained, looking down at Kurayami's body as if to ponder what he was saying.

"You're sick. You meant everything to him and you think of him as nothing but a tool...?" Zoro repeated calmly, unable to believe that a living being can be so cruel. He was more cruel and heartless than any wild animal or heartless beast that could possibly exist. Truly a freak of nature.

"Of course I mean everything to him! He wouldn't have a life if it wasn't for me!" Yusuke suddenly shouted, whipping out his arms beside him and look up at the sky like he was a prophet speaking to God. "When I found Kurayami that day he was in an absolutely atrocious state! I saved him that day, so of course he'd be loyal!" The purple haired demon claimed loudly with a chuckle.

"What do you mean...?" Zoro asked skeptically. He didn't want to believe the man's motives or even listen to his sickening excuses but if it brought him a step closer to understanding his opponent, he'd listen. That and just his sheer curiosity of the man he had just killed. The man that was so quiet, so unemotional and uninteresting until now.

"A long time ago, I was traveling from town to town to find the next half demon. I heard about this rumor of a monster that was living amongst villagers. I was so tired and frustrate after finding nothing over and over again, so I hoped this could be a lead. You can see why I was so frustrated... I went to the village looking for you, Roronoa! Though it was half a century before you were even born. So when I didn't find anyone yet again..." Yusuke took a pause and thought back to those days of searching with an amused look, licking his lips sadistically as he continued his story. "I killed everyone in the village, just like I had always done. Including those parents of his."

Zoro widened his eyes at the revelation that Yusuke just revealed to him. He had been searching for that long...? That sounded so ridiculous. The story brought up even more questions than there were before. "That makes no sense, stop lying... Why would Kurayami follow you after you killed his parents...?" Zoro asked lowly, almost daring him to say another lie.

"You didn't let me finish." Yusuke sneered, his sickening grin widening as he was about to continue. "I told you, I went to the town because of a rumor that a monster was living there... I saved Kurayami from his parents; killing them was a blessing in his eyes." He explained with a small chuckle. It's like he found all of the pain felt by others funny.

"They thought he was a monster, remember? When I found the poor child he was underfed, locked in the basement and full of deep gash wounds. Apparently they had tried to kill him on more than one occasion as well." He said as if it was some sort of sick joke to him, laughing as he added more gruesome detail. "That boy never really broke out of his emotionless shell completely but he did tell me that he was beaten and tortured day by day. Something about them experimenting on him on top of that."

"Though it was just a fluke that I happened to massacre his village, he still saw me as a savior for it! Isn't that just priceless!? But I thought 'hey, I could use this kid.' He was a demon after all, a shadow demon at that! So I let the kid come along with me!" Yusuke laughed much harder, taking a deep breath to continue. "But there was just one issue. The boy was way too kind hearted for me, it made me sick. But I was able to fix that up quite nicely." He started to explain, his smirk widening once again.

"I told him that the only way to be happy was to kill every human. I told him that they would all abuse him and try to break him. All he had to do was break them first and he could live." Yusuke explained, thinking back to how the small child's eyes lit up in realization when he said that. "And that's all it took! He was massacring humans in the next village! Isn't that wonderful!?" He laughed harder looking down at the man on the floor.

"So you brainwashed him..." Zoro repeated with a mutter, pretty much summing up Yusuke's entire explanation. The Straw Hats remembered that those were the exact words Kurayami was muttering when he was fighting them. Though accusing Yusuke of brainwashing the man didn't seem to affect the purple haired demon in the slightest, in fact, it seemed to amuse him.

"Brainwashing is an interesting way to put it... But, I guess you aren't completely wrong." Yusuke said calmly as he condensed his dark aura to his hands again, seemingly wanting to continue to battle. "Though that doesn't really matter. We aren't all that different." Yusuke sneered, his grin turning from amused to bloodthirsty.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro said threateningly, being compared to the demon in front of him just made him angry. He had no idea why he suddenly said something so disgusting, Yusuke's been saying that he's better than Zoro this whole time and now he's saying that they're the same? What was his angle? What was he trying to get at?

"Well of course there's the fact that you're nothing but a half breed, but half breed or not I can see it in your eyes. You crave power, and you'd do anything to obtain it." Yusuke sneered as if he knew he was correct, as if there was no doubt in his mind that what he was saying is true. Zoro was truly a black and white kind of person, at least to Yusuke he seemed that way.

Zoro took a pause as he contemplated what Yusuke was saying. There was no doubt that the demon was trying to play mind games with him but he also couldn't deny what he was saying. "Yeah... But that doesn't have anything to do with you. You use other people to do your dirty work, I prefer to do it myself." He countered, only making Yusuke laugh.

"On the contrary..." He started, he wasn't going to get angry about the insult he was just given. Showing a mirror to Zoro's soul might be interesting. Yusuke wanted to see the swordsman become consumed by rage and anguish one last time, he'd do and say anything at this point to whip that smile off of Zoro's face. He needed to throw the swordsman off. So, he hit the swordsman where he knew it would hurt.

"You brainwashed that Kuina girl into helping you, right...? You were happy when you killed her... weren't you...?" Yusuke suggested, his smirk sprawling from cheek to cheek when Zoro's physically flinched from what he said.

"I don't know that you're trying to pull but I'm not interested." Zoro said trying to block out what the demon was saying, he couldn't let him say another word so he pushed off the ground over Kurayami's body and slashed towards the purple haired man. The demon dodged the slashed with some difficulty, Zoro could tell Yusuke was straining to keep up but he still continued to speak.

"You manipulated her into becoming your friend so that you could kill her in the end didn't you!? That was your plan all along! She was there just to test your strength, to see how far you can go! You used her then tossed her aside like a broken tool when you were stronger than her! I know it!" Yusuke shouted, causing Zoro's eyes to widen as he listened in shock to what the man was telling him. He couldn't believe what the demon claimed was true about his relationship with Kuina.

"You had never beaten her in a fight before right? But the demon gave you the strength to! You can't tell me that you had absolutely no happiness or satisfaction in you when you finally cut her down!?" Yusuke shouted, making sure to speak loud enough so the green haired swordsman wouldn't be able to block him out by the sound of the sword whipping through the wind.

Zoro couldn't help but have a flashback, imagining him slashing Kuina again... Living through that same nightmare as he watched her limp body rolling down the stairs. Also afterwards, holding the sword to his throat and trying to kill himself as his sensei forcibly had to stop him. "Shut up..." Zoro said trying to keep a calm voice as he continued to slash his swords towards Yusuke as the man blocked and dodged him, only getting a few shallow hits here and there.

Yusuke was talking loud enough for the other Straw Hats to hear too. They all widened their eyes at what Yusuke was saying, they knew the story about that girl in great detail... They knew how much thinking about Kuina hurt him. It wasn't fair for him to use that against Zoro... They're hearts skipped a beat every word Yusuke spoke about it, as if they thought Zoro was going to shatter if the wrong words are said.

"You were happy to have gained that power! You were happy to have been able to kill that girl before she could get in the way of your dream! That's why you felt so guilty, wasn't it...? YOU FELT GUILTY BECAUSE YOU LIKED CUTTING HER DOWN!" Yusuke shouted with a laugh as Zoro gritted his teeth together with all his might, using the katana in his mouth to catch the purple haired demon off guard and caused Yusuke to jump back.

"Shut up...! Can't you ever fight a battle without running that damn mouth of yours!?" Zoro snapped as he gripped his swords tighter, taking deep breaths to remain calm as well as from the exertion he just did. He hated the mind games Yusuke played with him... What he was saying wasn't true, of course it wasn't... It just made him so angry that he was even suggesting that.

"You're just angry because you know I'm correct! You enjoyed killing her! I know you did, stop denying it and embrace the beast inside of you!" Yusuke spread out his hands and looked up at the sky as if talking to a greater being once again. He laughed a blood thirsty cackle, full of darkness that it added an ominous feeling to the air. "To obtain power, you killed that girl in cold blood for daring to claim she is stronger than you! It's in our very bones, Roronoa! It's part of your being to enjoy crushing those weaker than you!"

Zoro closed his eyes and tried to tune the man out, drowning out his voice by repeating the same thoughts in his mind. 'It isn't true... Stay clam...' It took all of the mental training and meditation that he had practiced so hard to master to be able to stay calm. With struggled composure he ran at Yusuke after he said that, approaching the shadow demon before he could say anything else. He crossed his swords in front of him as he quickly approached Yusuke. "Oni-Giri!" He chanted, whipping his katana towards the demon.

Before his blades could reach Yusuke, he side stepped the attack and leaped out of the way. "The fact that you're being so defensive about it just proves I'm correct, you know." Yusuke sneered as he watched Zoro pivot quickly and spin around with as much speed as he could muster.

"Dragon Twister!" He shouted as a huge tornado of slashes surrounded the swordsman, Yusuke gracefully jumping out of the reach of Zoro's katana once again as his smile slowly widened. He looked so amused by the swordsman's struggle to not react. Though it was fun, Zoro was still staying too composed. He'd have to step it up a notch.

"That moment when she was begging you for mercy..." Yusuke finally sung smoothly as if the words just rolled off of his tongue. It's like he had been waiting to say that for the entire fight, the devastating look on Zoro's face said it all. The purple haired demon could tell that it rattled him. "It just made you shiver with pleasure, didn't it!? That beautiful rush feeling of adrenaline and pleasure as she begged you to stop, wasn't it marvelous!?" The demon said slowly emphasizing every cutting word.

'Zoro... S-stop...' Kuina's pleading, pain written voice echoed in his head as Zoro froze in his tracks and bit down on the katana in his mouth. Why did he have to say something like that...? Why did he have the bring up his one most haunting memory...? He always brought up the greatest weakness in his heart every single time that he spoke! 'Z...Zor...o' He could still hear Kuina's cries of agony as he slashed her echoing through his head, now loud enough to crowd his thoughts as if it was happening at that very moment.

Yusuke didn't know anything; he had never even met Kuina. He shouldn't be talking, he never met her... He didn't see what happened... Zoro didn't even know why Yusuke would even think this is true. "Think about it, her shouts of pain... Weren't they music to your ears!? Didn't it make your heart skip a beat in excitement!?" Yusuke started to shout as he licked his lips with lust. Just thinking about the pained cries of that small girl made him excited.

'Don't... B-blame yourself... It... It's not... Your fault...' Zoro quickly brought his hands up to his ears to try and block out the man's voice. He couldn't take thinking about this anymore, the screaming in his head just wouldn't stop... Zoro felt like his head was about to explode. He squeezed his ears shut as tightly as possible, shaking his head to try and get rid of the thoughts being forcibly shoved into his head.

"You don't know anything." Zoro argued back as a rebuttal, trying to keep his tone calm and steady but failed as it shook and sounded a bit too panicked. He was repeating his own words in his head over and over again to stop his mind from collapsing from the guilt building up inside of him. 'He doesn't know anything... He doesn't know anything about Kuina or what happened...'

"On the contrary my boy! I know much more than you believe!" Yusuke sneered, taking a few steps closer to Zoro and gently caressing his arm. He pulled it slightly away from his ear and whispered lowly. "I've been watching you, from the very beginning~." He sneered slyly, letting out a low chuckle when Zoro slowly shifted his gaze over to the man, using his other hand to slash at him quickly. Yusuke jumped back just in time to dodge the swing, his laughter starting to become a bit louder.

"That was just mean. I'm only telling you what you know is the truth, I'm sorry if you can't take it." Yusuke said mockingly, he was in no way sorry... He seemed now like he got his energy back, like Zoro's despair somehow made him become stronger. It was like Yusuke feeds off of the pain of others; it makes him excited, pushes him forwards and gives him energy. It was as if the agonizing cries of others were like a motivational speech. "But it would be much easier on you if you just accepted it. Accept that you enjoyed every minute of making that girl suffer!"

'I'm... Sorry... I... I... Couldn't k-keep... Our pro...mise...' Zoro gritted his teeth harder together as the screams in agony became louder yet again in his head, becoming clearer as if slowly clawing its way out of Zoro's head and into reality.

He could remember the immense pleasure he felt while doing it... The sickening bloodlust and ecstasy that was running through his veins as he ripped Kuina apart. Everything Yusuke was saying... Every part of it was true. That demon made torturing his friend feel... So good. Just remembering that pleasure made Zoro feel sick to his stomach, disgusted with himself and what he had done... How he felt while doing it.

He was too terrified to close his eyes, scared that it would just replay the image of what he did to Kuina... Of her lifeless body falling down those stairs and bring back all of the guilt that he was trying so hard to forget about and suppress until now.

"What are you... Even talking about...? You have been… watching from the beginning…?" Zoro asked slowly, trying to keep the shaking of his voice to a minimum. He couldn't afford to be shaken by his words anymore, he had to stay on guard or else he'd be as good as dead. Trying to calm himself down he took a few deep breaths, changing the subject and listening to Yusuke's explanation.

"It should be fairly obvious by now, shouldn't it? I've been looking for you for centuries... Yet you ask why I know this? You didn't seem to question how I knew your name in the first place." Yusuke sneered, walking as Zoro slowly lowered his hands from his ears as he continued to listen, just glad that he was able to make Yusuke change the subject. The green haired swordsman thought back as far as he could, to the beginning of this entire conflict. It was true, Yusuke had called him Roronoa from the beginning.

Once that expression of realization came to Zoro's face Yusuke's chuckled and continued his explanation, excited for more of that shocked look from the man. "I went from town to town trying to find the next half demon and that's when I stumbled upon your little dojo one day..." The demon thought back almost nostalgically. "It was adorable. Your little sensei tried so hard to keep your identity a secret from me!"

Hatred and anger swelled in Zoro's eyes as the man mentioned his sensei like that, still not saying a word as he listened to what he had to say with an attempted emotionless expression. It was hard when everything about Yusuke pissed him off, that was a fact that Zoro could not deny. Though he was fast to anger, everything about this man made the swordsman want to cut him into pieces. His tone of voice, his gestures, his attitude... Everything.

"It didn't take much convincing for him to give you away actually." Yusuke mentioned, Zoro's giving him an almost confused look when he did. He was completely skeptical to everything the man was saying of course. "All I had to do was threaten to kill his precious daughter and the man sung like a bird!" The purple haired demon sneered as he laughed, remembering the devastated and guilt written expression Koshiro had on his face when he was giving him the information he wanted.

'Every time I look at you now, all I see is pain.' Zoro remembered that his sensei said that... He remembered how sad and broken his sensei sounded. He was trying to act calm and kind but the small swordsman could tell that there was overwhelming sadness and sorrow in his voice. Knowing that Yusuke forced him to make that choice, to feel that guilt... It pissed Zoro off even more.

"And even after sacrificing you, his daughter died anyways! Isn't that priceless!?" Yusuke sung with a maniacal, almost over exaggerated laugh. A vein popped out of Zoro's forehead as he bolted at Yusuke quickly, he had enough of just standing there and listening to the man speak.

"That's enough." Zoro growled threateningly as his sword clashed with Yusuke's hand as the purple haired demon slid back on the deck with the same amused smile until his back crashed into a wall leaving the two just pushed on each other with all of their might.

The swordsman was so predictable by now. He always asked questions to know more but every answer Yusuke gave ended in Zoro trying to shut him up with an attack. However, the demon didn't care, he wanted to finish... Zoro was nowhere near angry enough to amuse Yusuke, he was still somehow able to hold back the majority of his rage and despair to keep a level head. He thought of what more he could say to finally cause Zoro to explode, coming up with the perfect revelation.

"I waited and waited, watching you grow up before my very eyes as I saw your demon grow stronger within you... And finally, it was just at that perfect turning point, strong enough to take over you completely with just a small push... but that damn old man sealed away your demon before I could get my hands on you! I had to wait 8 more years for it to get as out of control again! Annoying human... But it worked out either way in the end I suppose." Yusuke ranted as he started to push back harder against Zoro's sword, causing the blade to get closer to the swordsman's face as his hand shook from the pressure.

'However, before I can let you leave today... We have to do something about that demon of yours.' Koshiro's voice echoed in his head again as he remembered that scene of him sitting with his sensei, and the sudden shock in finding out there was a way to suppress his demon. The fact that pissed Yusuke off so much made Zoro slightly amused.

"Too bad, looks like my sensei outsmarted you." Zoro sneered back with his signature cocky grin, even if it was a forced and his expression looked strained from pushing against Yusuke's hands as one final pushed broke their lock. As soon as it did the purple haired demon narrowed his eyes at the swordsman, but when he was about to say what he was building up towards, Yusuke's eyes fill with excitement and bloodlust.

"You might be right..." He surprisingly agreed. "I know that he tried to stop me yet again too, by writing that stupid book of his and placing it on islands throughout the Grand Line... Much to the displeasure of me and the World Government." Yusuke explained, the Straw Hats widening their eyes slightly when they found out that the purple haired demon knew about their book.

"But they had an issue which I'm sure Koshiro knew about... If they would act on it and arrest him or confiscate the books it would be like telling the whole world that it is real. They thought it would be better to let the world believe it was a work of fiction." Yusuke continued, it felt by the way he was talking and explaining things that he was still building up to something important.

"Just get to the point already." Zoro finally interrupted, he didn't need any more buildup. So who cares if he knew about the book? Why does it matter that the World Government couldn't arrest his sensei? Zoro believed that they couldn't do it even if they tried. He had the entire revolutionary army behind him, and Koshiro was also insanely strong.

"But I didn't have my hands tied, that, and it's a lot easier to get around without the revolutionary army knowing when you're only two people... Blackmail also works." The man started to chuckle his deep, sadistic laugh that he did whenever he was excited. "It was simple... You become my new hostage and I could do anything I wanted to that man!" He explained as all eyes on the deck widened in shock, Zoro completely dumbfounded and in complete shock as well.

"You should have seen his face when I made my conditions! 'Please don't hurt Zoro, he's the only family I have left!' That's what he cried over and over again to me!" The demon said, when quoting Koshiro he used a very degrading and mocking sounding voice. "Even as I was torturing him he just kept on begging me not to hurt you!" Yusuke said with an intense laughing fit when he looked up at Zoro's expression.

Nami's eyes were wide as well, both her hands covering her mouth as she listened to what the man said. The rest of the conscious people all had that same expression, their hearts dropping to their stomachs as they heard what the demon had done to Zoro's family back home.

"I wanted you to be the one to kill him in the end once your demon took over so I sadly left him alive. I thought that it would be the ultimate despair if that 'last family member left' ended up to be the one who kills him." Yusuke explained, a grin sprawling from cheek to cheek remained plastered on his face as he did.

"However, torturing him was indeed great fun! Since you're sadly now under control I guess once I'm done with you I'll go back and finish what I had started!" He thought back to when he made Koshiro sit still in a chair, hearing his yells echoing throughout the room. "Maybe I'll torture him again too! The first time was marvelous. Do you wanna hear what I did to him...?" He asked with a sickening smirk, taking Zoro's burning, wild eyed silence as a yes without waiting for his answer.

"I started with making him sit still as I broke every finger one by one... Then, I slowly carved my sword through his skin, making him feel every delicious moment of the pain! Next I started to break the rest of the bones in his body, his arm... His leg... His-" Yusuke was trying to finish but before he could he was interrupted with a cry of pure fury from the green haired swordsman as he ran at Yusuke. The fire of rage and despair he was so desperately trying to keep under control completely exploded.

The purple haired demon chuckled thinking once again that there was always a constant cycle to Zoro's reactions. First he looked shocked, and then lashed out to stop him from talking. Over and over again with every new subject Yusuke had brought up. However, this charge was different. With the Kuina thing and the Koshiro revelation being said at the same time it seemed to push Zoro's anger over the edge. Everything he was keeping pent up until now clouding his mind fully as Zoro was now turned into a mindless ball of fury.

The anger inside of Zoro reached way passed its boiling point now, and the more enraged he got seemed to affect the black markings on his body. They seemed to start to crawl past half of his body and began to envelop the rest of him, his left eye starting to match the demonic look of his right eye. "Bull shit!" Zoro warned, his eyes wide and full of fury as a new even more overwhelming aura took over him.

Yusuke's expression was at first pleased with what he had done to the swordsman but it soon twisted into shocked as he felt Zoro's aura increase yet again. "Don't lie to me! My sensei is stronger than you! He wouldn't let you torture him!" The wear and tear his body must be feeling as he lets this much aura be released must have been incredible. He was letting it consume his entire body now. The swordsman truly wasn't human in the slightest. However, before the demon could say anything as warning Zoro was right in front of him, slashing his katana towards Yusuke's neck.

With a bit of a shocked gasp, the purple haired man leaned back and dodged though still getting a bit of his neck cut, it wasn't deep enough to kill him. "He would if you were being threatened it seems..." Yusuke muttered, a bit angrily yet still amused as he placed his hand on his new slash wound to stop the bleeding. "You pitiful creature, do you actually think-" the purple haired man tried to say but before he could even get the words out Zoro appeared behind him once again. The black markings now all over his body.

Zoro slashed his katana at Yusuke's shoulder cutting it pretty deeply as blood splattered everywhere. The purple haired demon tried to jump back but Zoro appeared right again in range. He was so fast now and so strong... For the first time in his life, Yusuke felt fear after what he had done... But, he wasn't going to show it, he was a full demon, what he was facing was just a half demon! There was no way he was going to lose to a lowly half demon like Zoro, no way!

Thinking about that Yusuke gritted his teeth together and finally blocked Zoro's katana, using his other hand and quickly whipping his hand towards the swordsman. Since they were at such a close distance it hit Zoro before he could back away leaving a deep slash on the upper right corner of his chest. After that the two exchanged blows with each other, new cuts wounds appearing on each of their bodies yet they didn't stop.

Though Yusuke accomplished his goal in making Zoro lose his cool, at least for a little while to the demon's surprise it seemed to make the situation worse for himself. Sure the swordsman was no longer in a state of mind to think rationally but the anger increased his physical capabilities to a point where he didn't need to think anymore to beat Yusuke, something the purple haired demon never fathomed as possible.

They remained slashing at each other for a while, both of them refusing to back down or take a step away from each other. The sound of metal hitting each other rung throughout the deck, both auras bursting out. Eventually, the slashes slowed down as the two of them were panting heavily. "Not bad... For a half breed..." Yusuke sneered between breaths for air.

Zoro remained silent as he just tried to focus on the task at hand. He was still too enraged at the man for everything he had told him, for everything he had done to him. There was no way he was just going to chat it up with that despicable demon now... With one finally slash and a small battle cry he whipped his katana at the man with all his remaining strength. Yusuke was able to block it but skidded back, now leaving some distance between the two of them.

There was a silence for a while as the two of them stood face to face trying to catch their breath. Both eyes were locked on each other's when Yusuke suddenly started chuckling. "This is getting quite tiresome is it not...?" He asked, watching as the green haired swordsman narrowed his eyes dangerously at him, as if he was still skeptical of everything he said. "I'm saying I'm bored of you, little half demon... So, I'm going to finish this right now with my most powerful attack!" Yusuke announced with a smile.

He clapped his hands together and closed his eyes as his aura suddenly spiked. One of his wings disappeared as the other doubled in size, no longer looking like the wing of a dark angel but now like a form of dark energy coming from his back. The wing enveloped Yusuke's entire arm as claw-like tips formed at the end, creating a very demonic looking arm. "Claw of the shadow demon..." He muttered proudly, confidently looking into the swordsman's eyes to see any traces of fear.

However, when he looked, there was none. Zoro still stood steadily in front of the demon. The entire floor and space around Zoro suddenly turned black as he raised his katana up in front of him. "Demon aura... 9 sword style, Asura." He chanted as he grew 2 other head and 4 more arms, he had used this ability before during his fight with Kaku but this time since he was in full control of his demon powers instead of just a fraction, so it was much different.

The marks on his skin enveloped his entire body as his skin turned completely black. He looked like a shadow with 6 glowing red eyes. The aura around his katana became much bigger as well, shooting up the entirety of his arms. The other Straw Hats on the deck couldn't believe that who they were seeing was Zoro, and after using that much aura they could imagine that neither of them would be able to fight after this final attack.

"I want an explanation..." The shadow figure muttered, anger still burning through each word as all 3 of his mouths moved in unison making it impossible to tell which head was the real one and which were the illusions. "Before I kill you, tell me why... Why do you want to kill all humans?" He asked accusingly. No matter how screwed up the man was, he had to have a reason for risking his life to do all of this.

"Let me answer your with another question." Yusuke replied with a smirk forming on his face. "Why do you exterminate the ants in your house...?" He asked, letting the green haired swordsman ponder the statement for a moment before answering his own question.

"It is because they are weak vermin treading on your territory. They're taking your resources, taking up your space and they won't even follow your orders. They do nothing for you in exchange. So, they are good for absolutely nothing. They simply are disgusting creatures that get in the way... and for that, you get rid of them. A simple concept to understand, right? Why would you give up your space to weak, worthless little creatures like those?" Yusuke explained with a dark chuckle at the end.

"Comparing humans to ants. How rich." Zoro responded with sarcasm, his voice continuing to burn with rage. He was not really expecting much more from the demon in front of him at this point. However, he had his answer... Yusuke wanted to kill all of the humans simply because they were weaker than him and refused to follow his commands. Zoro would truly have no regrets in killing this man.

With no more words needing to be spoken, the two charged at each other. As their attacks collided a huge explosion that shook the entire deck. The back aura bursted out from them like blasts of intense energy, blinding all the spectators to a point where they didn't know what had happened during the clash. When the blasts of aura died down and the dust cleared they only saw as they appeared at the other end of each other, back to back. The illusions of Zoro's asura attack were gone but his skin, eyes and teeth still had the same intense demonic look to them. Yusuke was the same, though his wings now gone he still had the horns and teeth as well as the demonic eyes.

They stood calmly for a while, looking straight ahead as blood suddenly erupted from Zoro's shoulder. With a grunt in pain he stumbled but caught himself before he fell. He then shifted his toxic gaze and turned his head slightly to see Yusuke.

When he did, a cry of pain escaped the purple haired demon's mouth, blood splattering on the ground from across his stomach. The man dropped down on his knees and hunched over, eyes wild with worry and fear of defeat. He tried to open his mouth to speak but when he did blood only came out and spattered all over the floor in front of him. Sitting there on his knees for only a few moments caused a pool of blood to form around the man as his demonic form disappeared, fading back to Yusuke's original state.

With a lot of struggle, Zoro was able to walk in front of Yusuke, swaying on his feet as he did. "D-Don't think... This... I-Is over...!" Yusuke growled, finally able to speak while looking up at the green haired swordsman who suddenly had such a cold look in his eyes as Zoro watched the demon try to get up but continue to fail. "I'd... Never... Be defeated... By... A... lowly half breed...!" The man struggled to raise his voice as blood leaked from his mouth, sounding so desperate and angry now.

"You're right... You won't be defeated by a half demon..." Zoro stated, letting his demonic form fade away. The fangs retracted as his skin turned back to its original color along with his eyes. As soon as his demon form disappeared Zoro felt a sudden hit of fatigue and pain now that his demon blood wasn't assisting him to stand anymore.

The intense exhaustion and pain helped him calm down his anger a bit though, now thinking a little more logically. However, he was only able to remain upright with a great amount of struggle. "I'm gonna... kill you... As a human...!" The green haired swordsman said determinedly, sheathing two of his katana to only leave the beautiful white one... The Wado Ichimonji.

"Though I do hate you... defeating you as a power crazed full demon isn't right, I refuse to do it that way... I won't be like you; I'm not going to kill you with a smile or with a strange sort of pleasure... A fight where you aren't yourself doesn't count, so winning or losing wouldn't matter unless it's as myself… So... I'll kill you how I always was, with my sense of humanity in tact..." Zoro explained, remembering that he had once told Kuina something like that.

While he said it, he was thinking back to when he first used the power. He remembered the feeling of ecstasy running through his whole being. Feeling such strength made him forget for a moment who he really was, the power had corrupted him and made him forget about his humanity... However, Yusuke reminded him that he was human with those statements about his past. So, at least he was grateful to the man for that much.

Yusuke widened his eyes at Zoro with complete anger and fear, he gritted his teeth as the man's body started to shake. "You... You little brat... You dare... You dare speak to me... Like that...!? I'm... going to be... The king of demons...! I'm... Gonna kill all of you wretched humans...! I'm going to be... The ruler of this world...! And you dare... To speak to me... Like that...!?" Yusuke started to rant weakly, blood spilling from his mouth as he tried to raise his voice to shout but couldn't get his voice to become that loud.

"Tell me, Yusuke..." Zoro said calmly, tightening his grip on the Wado rose above his head. He was going to defeat this man together with Kuina, the one who pushed him through so many hard times... The owner of this katana, the one that gave him a reason to continue living. Finally being able to defeat his demon, to be able to defeat this man... It was thanks to her... And of course his crew mates...

Kuina deserved the revenge too after what he did to Koshiro as well. He was sure she was just as angry at Yusuke as he was... So, he was going to use her blade to finish him. Especially now as he used this katana, it was like he could feel Kuina holding on to it as well. With her by his side, he brought down the katana on Yusuke and cut through his left shoulder, all the way to the man's heart.

"How does it feel to have an insignificant ant be the one to crush you...?" Yusuke could only make a few weak grunting noises with a look of pure devastation on his face as more blood splattered from his slash injury before falling back in a harsh splatter on the deck. He was dead... There was no doubt about that.

There was a long silence for a while after Yusuke had fallen. Only Zoro's harsh panting could be heard ringing throughout the deck. He glanced at Yusuke's body one more time before gripping the katana in his hand again with all his might, to a point where his hand was shaking once again.

Zoro looked up at the sky, the anger being washed away by pure relief and joy that it was all over. His sensei was alive, Yusuke got what was coming to him and would never threaten his family again... With a small smile, he shouted as loudly as he could. "I-I did it Kuina...! Are you watching...!?" He cried, watching the clouds slowly pass by.

"I WON!" The green haired swordsman yelled at the top of his lungs, though his voice wasn't too loud due to his exhausted state. After shouting, Zoro suddenly started to see the clouds blur. He stumbled a bit as the swordsman could feel the whole world start to spin around him. He took a pause to try and keep himself upright but soon found that it was useless.

"I... Don't think... I can stand... Anymore..." Zoro muttered to himself as he slowly started to fall back, losing consciousness from putting his body in so much strain. The Wado dropped to the ground but before he hit the deck Nami and Usopp were able to swoop in and work together to catch him. With a few grunts they were able to lower their unconscious swordsman to the ground gently, placing his head on Nami's lap.

"You really did it, Zoro." She whispered to him with a smile, seeing that even if he was unconscious and probably in so much pain that he still had a very small and peaceful smile on his face. They finally defeated Yusuke... It was finally over after so much struggling and pain... Zoro and the rest of the crew could finally relax and be free.

**((Author's Note: Wow... I can't believe I actually finished that fight. I had the ending of that planned out for like 2 whole years! I hope it was a good final battle! There's only one chapter left, thank you for supporting me for so long! The last chapter of Awakening will be out as soon as possible!))**


	19. Final Promise

# Final Promise

**((Author's Note: It's finished... This is the last chapter guys! Can you believe it!? ;-; I honestly never thought this moment would come, it's hard to believe this is actually happening... Now I don't know what to do with my life! I guess I'll just have to start another story soon. XD Anyways, it's not really over yet for you guys until you read this! So, without further delay, I hope you like the last chapter of Awakening!))**

As soon as the fighting had died down Zoro started to breath very harshly. Nami remembered that throughout the fight Zoro had sacrificed so much to gain the power to defeat Yusuke... He gave up his energy, his life force and even his human half. She has no idea what the long term or even short term consequences of doing that would be... She just knew that it would be severe.

Looking up from Zoro her eyes met with Usopp, one of the only nakama other than Robin who was still conscious. "Usopp, we have to wake Chopper up and treat him well enough so he can help the others..." She said, looking around and so unsure of what to do... Everybody was so badly injured... They could die if they weren't treated soon but her medical skills weren't good enough to save them.

"That man... He was quite impressive." A sudden deep voice hit Nami's ears as she looked up and saw Hawkeye standing over her, peering at Zoro who had now turned a sickly pale colour. With all the chaos that had happened she had almost forgotten that he was there.

"Please... Do you know how to help them!?" She pleaded with the man, who scanned the condition of all the crew members with a sigh. Both her and Usopp waited for an answer, both looking very anxious as to what it would be.

"I am no doctor, woman." He said at first and then took a small pause. As if on purpose, he let the Straw Hat's expression drop in disappointment before continuing and having them brighten up again when he did. "However, I have traveled the sea for many years alone. I've had a bit of experience in this field and can act as a first aid." Hawkeye stated. He did not want such an amusing group to die in such a way after all.

"I know some knowledge too, but just from some medical books that I've read." Robin chimed in, moving slowly to her feet as she stumbled a bit. She winced at the movement of her wrist but knew it was no time to be thinking about her own injuries.

"The cook, the raccoon dog, Roronoa and the rubber boy are the ones in the worst condition. You have seemed to stop the bleeding long enough for the rubber boy and the cook would be too much of a complicated situation for me. So, we shall start with the doctor." He explained, walking over to the small reindeer and bending down to examine his injury.

"Get clean gauze and apply pressure to the open head wound." Robin suddenly stated as Usopp and Nami sprang into action. They did as he said and kept it pressed there until the bleeding had stopped. Once it did Hawkeye carefully stitched the wound closed under Robin's careful instruction and let Nami and Usopp wrap his head in a bandage. Once the treatment was complete, Usopp leaned in close to Chopper's ear.

"Oi! Chopper! Wake up, we need you!" He shouted as he lightly shook the small, fuzzy crew member's shoulder. When he did Chopper's eyes slowly fluttered open as he groaned softly in pain, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the scene. He was a bit out of it for a moment until he remembered everything that had happened.

"What happened!? Is everybody ok!?" Chopper suddenly snapped but before he could stand up and panic Usopp held him in place. He gave the reindeer a moment to calm down before quickly speaking up to answer his question.

"They're alive but they need treatment. Can you move well enough to help them?" Usopp asked gently as he watched Chopper trail his eyes up and down the sniper to see if his friend had any injures. Though he noticed some scratches and maybe some broken bones there was nothing too serious so he pulled his attention away to examine the rest of the crew.

When he did his eyes widened at the sight of Sanji, Zoro and Luffy. With the help of Usopp he was guided to his feet as Nami gently handed him his medical bag that she had taken to treat the others. Chopper took it from her and slowly moved towards the three of them who were all in close proximity to each other.

"I... I promise that I'll save them all! I won't let anybody die!" The doctor suddenly announced as he got to work. He seemed to have worked on the three of them in record pace knowing that he had to work fast if he was going to save all of them.

Nami, Usopp and Robin were amazed at how efficiently he could work even in his condition. They knew that the small doctor's head must have been pounding, he must feel light-headed and dizzy yet he could still work at such a pace. He was so determined and focused, they couldn't understand how it was even possible.

After examining them all he asked that his crew members bring them into the infirmary. Nami and Usopp followed his orders carrying each carefully to the infirmary and finding a place for them. Once they were all there Chopper worked with Usopp and Nami for hours to help each of them. Robin waited patiently outside with Mihawk in silence, she was unable to help due to the injuries of her hand and they didn't expect that Hawkeye would. He had already done enough for them.

Chopper needed to do major surgery on Sanji. He needed to do reconstructive surgery on the cook's stomach and many other organs around that area. Afterwards he wrapped his torso tightly in bandages for the cook's broken bones and shattered ribs.

Next he worked on Zoro... He wrapped the countless deep slashes all over his body first before examining him further. His organs didn't have enough energy to function on their own after everything that had happened. The swordsman was pretty much living through machines when Chopper was done with him. He was on life support that regulated his heart beat, and aided his lungs to contract and expands. Zoro was wired to so many machines he looked like a science experiment that went horribly wrong.

Luffy's reopened injury was no walk in the park either. After Kurayami stuck his filthy and bloody hands into the captain's open wound it became infected. Along with performing a blood transfusion Chopper also hooked him up to antibiotics and carefully cleaned the wound before stitching it and wrapping Luffy in bandages.

After that... The hard part was over. Exhausted, the three of them walked out of the infirmary to treat the others. They wrapped Robin's wrist in bandages, fixed Franky's ankle and wrapped his back as well as wrapping up Brook. It didn't take long for Franky and Brook to wake up and when they did Chopper gave everybody pain killers.

He then treated Nami and Usopp's very minor injuries before attending to his own. Thankfully he didn't have any brain damage so his situation wasn't as complicated as it could have been. They had already done a pretty good job on his head so there was nothing much for Chopper to do other than giving himself some painkillers.

At the end of it all, the small doctor collapsed to the ground with a tiny smile. "That should be everybody." He finally said, he seemed calm and happy from his tone that he had finally finished treating everybody. Everybody in the monster trio was still in critical condition which worried him deeply, but nobody could shake the happiness that they felt. This was all that was left, after everybody healed up... It would be over. They would be free.

After a small pause, that now familiar calm and deep voice filled the quiet air. "It seems there is nothing left for me to do here. I will be going." Hawkeye mentioned bluntly as he made his way to the edge of the ship, near one of the broken railings to make it easier to jump over. His small ship was still docked next to the much bigger Sunny.

"Just so you are aware, it will take a long while for Roronoa to recover. His aura took up so much of his energy and life force. Along with devouring his human half. I am sure there will be some long term side effects. For now, he won't be able to use the power. At least not until he recovers fully." Hawkeye stated indifferently as he was about to jump off but stopped when he remembered something.

"Shima doko akuma-ō doeru... You are lucky that you never had to visit that place. Never seek out anything on that island. If you come across it, do not enter. You have been warned..." He took a small pause before continuing with a sigh. "Now since there is nothing for you to seek there, I'm sure our paths will not across again for quite some time." Hawkeye stated before getting ready to jump off of the ship again. However, before he could Nami quickly spoke.

"Thank you." She said simply and warmly. The navigator only got a small, seemingly indifferent grunt from the man before he jumped onto his boat and sailed away quickly. The way he reacted to her thanks, reminded the crew a bit of Zoro.

The crew started off by cleaning up the blood and the bodies from the deck. Despite their hatred it still seemed a little cruel as they attached something heavy to the bodies and let them sink to the bottom of the ocean. They maybe would have buried them... but they had no idea when they would reach the next island and if they could even be buried there.

Afterwards, they grabbed sponges and scrubbed the grassy area along with the wood in the basement to try and get the blood out, shivering a couple of times at how much there was to clean up throughout the deck. That alone took them a couple of days to complete.

At the same time the others were cleaning up, Franky realized the damage that was done to the ship after the battle and he really wasn't happy. It took him and Usopp an entire day of none stop work to patch the whole thing up but over time the Sunny was back to normal once again. During this clean up period, Nami was cooking the meals since Sanji was still unconscious and though she was tempted to charge the crew for her services, she held back.

As Chopper predicted, Luffy was the first to wake up and by that time the rest of the crew's injuries were already healed for the most part. The captain had a bit of a fever but after being in the care of the crew's amazing doctor that fever cleared up with very little complications. After another couple of days he was allowed to leave the infirmary as long as he took it easy to let his wound completely close.

However... Sanji and Zoro had much more serious cases. Sanji's organs had been smashed so his insides were still in bad condition. That along with many broken bones and shattered ribs, Chopper knew he wouldn't be moving for a while.

Zoro... Though his slash wounds were now doing much better... Was still on life support as well. He hasn't gained enough energy yet for his body to function on its own... Draining his energy and life force dry was way too reckless... Chopper has also been checking for side effects of his human half being devoured as well but nothing had appeared yet.

It took an entire week for Sanji to finally open his eyes. When he did he seemed a bit flustered, just like Luffy had when he first opened his eyes but quickly the events that took place hit him like a brick to the face. 'It's my turn to protect you now...' The cook remembered a very faint voice say that to him, a voice that sounded like it belonged to Zoro... But he had just assumed it was a dream. At least he did... Until he turned around and saw Zoro hooked up to all the machines. His features stiffened as the person that was watching over them at the time finally spoke up.

"It looks like he's in quite a predicament, doesn't it?" The smooth, calm voice of a mature lady danced to Sanji's ears. The tone had a ring of amusement and happiness to it as the black haired woman saw her nakama finally awaken, also enjoying how the cook's first thought while waking up was to see if Zoro was alright.

"What happened after I passed out...?" He asked the girl calmly, giving her a small smile. His voice sounded a bit horsed since he hadn't spoken in so long and from the dry blood that he could still feel in his mouth. His stomach was killing him as well and he felt sick but was still glad to be awake... and alive thanks to a certain shitty swordsman. Though what he was truly glad for was to wake up in the presence on such a beautiful lady, he couldn't have asked for more.

"You've been unconscious for about a week now, Sanji." She stated, watching the cook's expression twist in confusion. "Zoro fought with Yusuke and won. The reason why he's in that state is because in exchange for using his demon's abilities he had to use his energy and life force. Though it sounds a bit confusing he also gave his human half which has side effects that we haven't discovered yet." Robin explained softly.

The archeologist was glad that she was the one on watch when the cook woke up since Nami had already explained this twice; once to the crew members that had been unconscious and once to Luffy when he woke up. So, she assumed that the navigator had enough of explaining the situation.

"I see." Sanji stated calmly as he gently placed his hand on his stomach as he felt the pain start to spike. With a small wince which he tried to cover up the cook sighed. "At least it's all over now..."

Even though he tried to cover it up, nothing seemed to be able to slip by the intelligent archeologist as she immediately got up. "Chopper told me to give you this if you were in pain." Robin explained, handing Sanji a white, thick liquid which didn't smell all that great. "Sorry, but you can't swallow solids yet."

"Thank you Robin-chwan~!" He cooed warmly as he took the small glass from her with both hands and drank the contents inside quickly. It wasn't the worst thing he's ever tasted, though it wasn't very good either. Even if the taste was fine it took all of Sanji's energy to keep it down, it felt like his stomach was throwing a fit at him for consuming something.

"I'll go tell Chopper that you're awake. I'm sure he wants to check up on you." She said before gracefully walking out of the room, her heels clicking quietly along the ground as she walked away. As soon as the clicking faded the cook turned back to Zoro to observe his situation. The swordsman looked like he was still in a coma... Sanji could tell from all of the equipment that he was on life support.

The cook also remembered how quickly Zoro woke up after getting his organs smashed... It definitely was less than a week. However, the swordsman was a half demon which meant he was sturdier than most... He could lose more blood and take more damage while still being able to move. Of course though, Sanji already knew that after traveling with him for so long.

It didn't take much time for Chopper to barge into the room and start checking on him. He could also hear the gleeful whispers of the rest of his crew outside of the infirmary door. "You seem to be looking a lot better." The doctor responded happily. "However, you shouldn't be moving around much yet. Stay in bed for a couple more days."

"Yes doctor Chopper." Sanji responded obediently which made Chopper blush and dance around the room, claiming that saying he was a doctor didn't make him happy in the slightest. It was nice to see the little reindeer do that again. The crew was finally getting back its sense of normality. The only problem was... There was still this tension about Zoro's condition.

"So Chopper... When do you think that idiot will be waking up?" He asked, casually pointing his thumb to the unconscious swordsman behind him which caused Chopper to stop dancing immediately. His smile dropped as well before he started to explain for the third time what he has found.

"Both you and Luffy had serious injuries. Many of your organs had been damaged and for Luffy his artery was reopened. I was able to restore your organs to some degree and patch up Luffy... but Zoro's case is... different." Chopper started by saying, making sure that Sanji didn't decide to take his injury lightly just because he and Luffy woke up first.

"Almost all of the energy and life force in Zoro's body was drained completely dry. The body needs energy for even the most basic life functions like making the heart beat and allowing the lungs to circulate air... Now that the body can't accomplish that on its own, these machines need to do it for him until he regains the energy back." Chopper took a small pause in his explanation as Sanji pondered what was just said.

"At this point... Zoro being in a coma is a good thing. He should remain asleep until his organs are running again. After that he should not move, wasting even a bit of energy at that point could be fatal. The IV right now is trying to restore that missing energy, but it will take time. I have no idea when he'll be waking up." Taking another small pause Chopper looked at the ground.

After everything they've been through he really didn't want to say it, he really didn't want to place a bad mood on the ship again but as the doctor... He had no other choice. "That is... If... He wakes up." He finally explained with a solemn voice as Sanji glanced over at the mechanical mess that Zoro was... He looked like hell. Sure he did, but...

"He's gotten this far." Sanji said out loud, refusing to keep his thoughts to himself on this matter. "There's no way that he'd just die after surviving this hell for so long. It's finally over, it's celebration time! There should be no place for more despair and sorrow on this ship. He'll be fine." The cook announced, his stomach hurting as he talked but he refused to stop. His voice sounded a little weak and strained but the inspiration behind the words still reached the ears of his crew members. And just like Sanji said... A couple of days later, Zoro finally woke up.

...

His eyelids felt heavy as he tried to force them open. For some reason he just felt so tired... Even though his body was screaming at him to go back to sleep, Zoro managed to fight against it and force his eyes open.

At first despite his eyes being open he saw nothing but black, hearing the fading voice of somebody familiar. "Z... F... M... V..." Zoro blinked a couple of times as the light in the room finally shone on his eyes. "Zor... Fol... M... Voi..."

Though still confused, his eyes finally adjusted to the light and saw a blonde swirly-eyed cook looking over him. "Hey, looks like you pulled it off ya' shit head!" Sanji finally said when he saw the swordsman wake up.

The cook saw that he was struggling to open his eyes but was about to wake up. Knowing how bad Zoro's sense of direction was he wanted to make sure he went the right way to waking up. It would be just like the swordsman to take a wrong turn or something and go into the light. That would definitely be a shitty way to die.

"C...oo...k..." Zoro muttered very quietly, his tense and exhausted expression twisted a bit in confusion. As soon as he spoke his head started spinning. Just saying that one word seemed to have drained him completely.

His entire body felt like it was in excruciating pain from all of his injuries even though he knew that they had already been treated. So, not thinking anything of it, he opened his mouth to force out another word. He could feel all of the machines and hearing them around him, he wanted to know what was going on but before he could ask Sanji stopped him.

"No more talking." The cook somewhat demanded. "You won against Yusuke... But you drained all of your energy and life power while doing it. So right now your organs are having a little trouble working." He explained, satisfying Zoro's curiosity enough to have him comply and relax.

"That was pretty reckless of you" The cook stated with a small grin, as he did Zoro trailed his eyes along the cook's body. He noticed that he too was still recovering in the infirmary. He had thick bandages around his head and body but his stomach was wrapped up the most by far.

Zoro rolled his eyes in response, giving a sort of look that said 'you're one to talk' through the pained expression on his face. Just with his intuition, Sanji pretty much got it right away but ignored it. With a scoff the cook shook his head and wiggled his finger in front of the swordsman, knowing that he'd want to move.

"Don't move until Chopper gives you the ok, got it?" The cook said, earning a discontent look from the motionless swordsman as he rolled his eyes on response yet again at the continuous demands from the cook.

"You know... I think I like it when you can't talk!" Sanji said with a wide grin, the bitter revenge finally being payed. Zoro remembered saying the same thing to the cook when he came to save him... And now it was Sanji's turn to have the final laugh.

The comment earned the blonde an angry glare from his nakama. Zoro narrowing his eyes in an attempt to look dangerous even though he is hooked up to all of the machines as his lifeline. He let the swordsman calm down a bit from the teasing before speaking. When he did, Sanji suddenly got a grim and heavy air around him. He remembered what Zoro said to him right before he passed out... 'It's my turn to protect you now...' He was about to say something but stopped himself.

'I never... Protected you...' That's what he wanted to say... He had tried to kill him after all... He was the first to state that they should end Zoro's life. He couldn't help but feel guilt consume him. They hadn't talked since then and Zoro's words were weighing heavily on Sanji's mind. However, he had said it himself, this was time to celebrate. No more despair... Sanji didn't want to add unnecessary weight on to a situation that was supposed to be uplifting and happy... And he didn't have the courage to say anything yet anyways.

"I should tell everybody you're awake." Sanji said as a replacement as he slowly stood up onto his feet. He wobbled just a bit but not much as he made his way to the door. He had been recovering for a while, he could almost walk perfectly now though of course Chopper was still making sure that he took his recovery slow.

Zoro watched him leave the room as he shifted his eyes to gather more information about his situation. He tried to twitch his fingers but they just wouldn't move, even trying to move them sent waves of exhaustion run through his body. What a pain. He wanted to drink sake to celebrate but in this condition he'd have to wait a bit longer.

Once Sanji exited the infirmary the first person he saw in front of him was Chopper who was about to enter the room for one of his hourly checks on Zoro's condition. Once he saw Sanji out of bed he gave him an innocently interested look. "What's wrong Sanji?" He asked sweetly, the cook could tell that the doctor was examining him as he asked the question.

"Zoro's awake." He stated simply with a warm smile. Just as expected the little doctor jumped into action and ran passed him into the infirmary. As soon as he entered the room Zoro's gaze shifted over to the tiny doctor as the swordsman gave him a small smile.

"Zoro's awake!?" Luffy shouted louder after hearing what Sanji had said from playing on the swing nearby. That triggered the rest of the crew to run over, Luffy still taking it easy from his own injuries he got up a little slower and made his way over at his own pace.

Sanji couldn't help but laugh as he watched the scene unfold. Everybody was getting scolded by Chopper as he told them not to excite Zoro, the swordsman looked annoyed yet also amused and at peace with the situation.

It was the perfect happy ending scene that the cook had mapped out for them in their darkest hour. The one that he longed to experience throughout the whole ordeal... The one that everybody longed to experience. Now that it was happening, it seemed unreal. Almost too good to be true. Though after everything that happened to them, they deserve to finally get some good fortune.

...

Zoro was able to finally speak after a couple more days of resting even if he still felt like he was in a lot of pain. It was strange though... his slash wounds were very close to being healed at this point. So, he shouldn't have been in so much pain. However that didn't matter, Zoro was able to take his mind off of it pretty easily thanks to the other Straw Hats.

The crew was taking turns watching after both him and Sanji, all of them talking about light subjects with the two as the room usually was full of smiles. At one point, it was Luffy's turn to watch after them and both Zoro and Sanji could tell that he was serious about something before he even spoke.

"Zoro..." He muttered, Zoro shifted his eyes over to his captain to show that he was paying attention to what Luffy was saying. "I heard what happened to your sensei from the others." That statement caused a very uncomfortable and heavy pause to fill the room as Sanji looked over at Zoro in confusion. He didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't his place to get involved anyways.

"What... about it...?" The swordsman asked slowly, as he shifted his eyes away from Luffy and now to the wall beside him. Why did he bring that up of all things? Whatever happened, happened... There was no need to cause such a heavy atmosphere now.

"We talked it over. If you want, we can go back to the east blue and check on your home." He offered, with the look in his eyes anybody could tell that he was completely serious. Widening his eyes Zoro whipped his gaze back to the rubber boy.

"Impossible...! If we go back... We'd have to redo the whole Grand Line...! We're, so close to the red line now... There's no way we can just turn back...!" Zoro protested to his request as Luffy stared his swordsman dead in the eyes.

"That doesn't matter. We did it once, we can do it again. I wouldn't blame you for wanting to go back. We all have family, everybody would understand." He explained as he saw his nakama waver for a moment in contemplation, though quicker than expected... His mind was made up.

"No..." Zoro stated plainly with a stern and certain voice. "There's no way... I'd make such a selfish decision. Yusuke said he was alive... And anyways, my sensei is strong. There's no need to... check up on him." The swordsman explained, smiling slightly in nostalgia as he remembered his sensei. "He's fine. I know he is."

Luffy would question him again if the swordsman's voice hadn't sounded so confident and absolute. So, with a smile and a chuckle he clapped his feet together and leaned back on his chair. "Ok! Then it's decided! We sail onwards!"

...

Of course, since it was Zoro it took a lot less time for him to be up and about then it would for any normal person... Though any normal person would have died a long time ago. It was a week later when Chopper finally let him take a walk outside of the infirmary.

His recovery had been very slow and boring for the swordsman... It seemed like it pained him to be lying still for so long. However, though slow to him, the rate at which he recovered shocked everyone... Well except for Luffy. He expected it. The captain even went as far as to make a bet with Usopp who argued it would take him at least 3 weeks to be up and on his feet again.

Though he was walking very slowly and seemed a bit out of breath, he was still walking. That was all that mattered. Chopper had somebody making sure to always stay with Zoro in case he had collapsed from exhaustion... And also to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid while his body is still recovering.

At this point Sanji and Luffy were pretty much completely back to normal and recovered. Luffy was running around and playing with Usopp again while Sanji was back to his usual flirting and cooking. Everything returned to normal... Well, at least for the most part.

Though it had already been over a week Sanji still had the feeling of guilt that he couldn't shake from what happened. He really didn't want to say anything since things on the deck were now finally returning to normal but every time the cook remembered what Zoro told him that time he gets consumed by what he had done.

Now Sanji really understood the weight of the guilt that Zoro had been carrying his entire life. He didn't even go through with it and he still felt paralyzing guilt for what he had done... He couldn't imagine what it would be like to actually have the blood of somebody you cared about on your hands. It would definitely be worse than any nightmare anybody could imagine...

He had to get it off of his chest eventually and despite Sanji's feelings, time still went on. After a little while longer the crew discovered the side effects of Zoro letting his demon half devour his human half... The consequence was something much worse than he had ever hoped for. It was the day after he started walking, when the Straw Hats threw him a banquet.

...

"Damn..." Zoro grumbled taking slow and heavy steps towards the kitchen. "Why'd that idiot captain of mine want me to come all the way to the damn kitchen anyways?" He complained to himself, trying to take steady breaths as he had to stop multiple times on his way from the back of the deck to there and lean on the wall.

It had already been a while since he started walking but now since nobody was around he could express the pain he was in fully. He didn't understand why his injuries were so painful when they should have been at least decently healed up by now...

Usually he wouldn't find such small injuries to be this devastatingly agonizing. He didn't understand what was wrong with him so, instead of making a big deal out of nothing he just decided to let the pain pass once the injuries healed without telling anybody. Really not thinking it was something to tell anybody about. He just figured his pain tolerance was so low because he was tired.

After a long while he had finally reached the door of the kitchen. He straightened up, fixing his expression to hide the pain and opened the door carefully, the great smell of food hit him as soon as the scenery was visible. "ZORO! BANQUET!" Luffy shouted, raising his cup with a wide, goofy and excited grin.

"Sorry to make you walk all the way here bro, we wanted it to be a surprise!" Franky explained, raising his bottle of cola in the air with his own goofy and excited grin on his face. With a closer look, it seemed everybody had that same expression... Even the cook.

"After everything there's no way we wouldn't toast to our victory!" Nami cheered as well. "We were even able to convince Chopper to let you have a drink!" She bursted, hoping to see a smile from they're swordsman after hearing the good news.

"Only one!" Chopper interrupted loudly, giving him a look that said to Zoro 'I'll be watching you'. He also had to make sure that Zoro would be alright to party so soon. The doctor wanted to let him recover for a couple more days but the rest of the crew insisted that a little fun would be good for him.

As everybody hoped, their efforts warranted them a warm smile from the swordsman as he sat down at the table. "Thanks guys..." He stated calmly waiting in anticipation for him to be handed his sake. It had been way too long since he had gotten to drink anything.

As if he could tell what he wanted by the glimmer in his eyes, the cook handed Zoro a cup of sake with a small scowl as if he wasn't smiling a moment ago. "Here." Sanji said plainly as Zoro quietly took the sake out of his hands, both of them shooting each other an aggressive look before turning back to the party with a scoff.

There was no doubt that they were closer after everything that happened... The bond between whole crew seemed to have developed that sort of closeness, everybody feeling more intimate with each other than they were before. It was especially noticeable with Zoro. Even though he had slowly been breaking down the walls he put around himself little by little after traveling with the crew it just seemed like he was much less distant, closer now than ever before.

The swordsman was always a lone wolf even within the crew. He wanted to do everything himself, kept his feelings and even a major part of his past from the crew. It was like he never was able to drop his guard, even around them.

It was because he had always been afraid that his demon would take over at any time and kill everybody he cares about. He didn't want to get close to anybody again after what happened to Kuina which is why he always acted so detached.

Now, though it was subtle. The crew could tell that small change in his personality and noticed it as a big difference. At least it was for Zoro after all who of course was a hard headed guy that doesn't change easily. That is something the crew grew to accept and to love about their swordsman.

"Now that everyone's got a drink, let's toast!" Luffy shouted, snapping everybody's attention in the room to their captain. "TO ZORO'S VICTORY!" He shouted as he raised his glass high in the air. Everybody followed his lead, letting all of the mugs clink against each other in the middle of their circle.

"KENPAI!" They all shouted as a group, taking their cups and pressing it to their lips in unison right after. Zoro made sure to take a nice and slow sip to enjoy the flavor of the drink for as long as he could, knowing that he was only allowed to drink one cup of it tonight. That's why he intended to save it for as long as he could.

After the toast the party raged on happily just like any other. Chopper and Luffy were doing a strange dance with chopsticks up their nose as Robin gleefully watched, Nami was drinking the kitchen dry of all its booze, Usopp was telling Brook and Franky one of his tall tales as Sanji worked hard to keep the food in high supply.

Zoro took it easy and just sipped his drink happily and quietly, completely content with watching everybody party. When he was sitting he wasn't in as much pain so staying still was probably the best thing for him to do. He was peacefully drinking his sake until Usopp suddenly came over to him during the festivities.

"Hey you! Whatcha doin' just sittin' there!?" Usopp slurred. By the way he was talking and walking, along with the light shade of red on his cheeks it was obvious that the sniper was completely wasted. "This party's totally for you man!" Usopp announced with a small drunken hiccup afterwards.

With a sort of 'I'm done with your shit' look, Zoro sighed, the corners of his lips only rising a bit at the sight of his drunken friend. "I'm too tired to run around like a crazy person Usopp." He explained, watching the sniper's expression twist up in confusion.

"You're tired already!? The party just started! How can you already be tired! You're a party pooper, that's what you are!" Usopp ranted with a little sway, completely forgetting the state Zoro was in. The swordsman figured that was the case and prepared to explain again but before he had the chance the sniper changed subjects out of nowhere, as if he had never said what he asked before.

"Yo, Zoro-ol'-buddy-ol'-pal! I was totally there when you were fighting that creepy guy!" He suddenly announced as if Zoro didn't know that. Then he suddenly leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "I think that guy had a thing for you!" Usopp said quietly, pulling away with a laugh that seemed way too hard for the joke.

"That's ridiculous Usopp!" Zoro snapped at him angrily at his stupidity though calming down a bit when he remembered the sniper was piss drunk. The swordsman rolled his eyes and took a sip of his sake before speaking again. "Why don't you go bug Luffy or something?"

"No way! I just wanted to tell you that while you were fighting him you looked WAY cool man!" The sniper suddenly shouted out of the blue, slapping Zoro's arm playfully when a sudden yell ripped through the party along with the crash of a cup falling to the ground.

The whole party stopped in its tracks to see Zoro holding his arm and gritting his teeth, the sake that was once in his hands now on the floor. His expression seemed almost as shocked as Usopp's who was staring at Zoro blankly, wondering if he had accidentally hit one of his injuries.

"Usopp! What did you do!?" Chopper yelled, pulling the chopsticks out of his nose and running over to Zoro and the very confused sniper who had now sobered up quite a bit from the shock of what just took place.

"He didn't do anything Chopper... He just tapped my arm." Zoro explained quietly before Usopp had a chance to speak, looking completely confused and bewildered the swordsman shifted his gaze to his arm to see what could have possibly happened. Just like his injuries, he was feeling so much pain over nothing again.

"Just a tap?" Chopper echoed curiously, examining where Zoro had grabbed for any injuries and seeing absolutely nothing in that place. "Then why did you yell like that Zoro? It sounded like you were in serious pain..." The doctor asked innocently, not knowing how he could treat an injury that wasn't there.

"I... I felt a sharp pain shoot through my arm when he did that." Zoro explain, sounding just as confused and shaken up as he looked. "I don't get it. Why did I feel so much pain from just a small tap on my arm and from pretty much healed injuries too?" He asked as a rhetorical question, more to himself than anybody else.

"You have been feeling pain from your mostly healed injuries...?" Franky repeated to make sure that he had heard the swordsman right. Zoro had fought with much worse injuries and hadn't felt that much pain before. Now with basically healed injuries he is in so much agony?

"Even after I gave you the drinkable pain killers? Why didn't you say something?" Chopper asked, confused with the situation he was faced with since the herbal drink he had made for everybody else seemed to have worked for them.

"They are healed injuries... I didn't think it was anything." Zoro responded honestly, examining his body in complete confusion as to what could possibly be wrong with him. He didn't think that anybody would be able to answer that question. Though, to his surprise, Nami did.

"Hawkeye said something before he left..." She started off her explanation to get everybody's attention before she continued. "He said that there could be a long term side effect to letting your demon devour your human half for more power." Nami said, everybody's expressions lighting up in realization.

"So then what's the side effect? Nobody can touch him?" Usopp asked confused at what that really meant for the swordsman though Chopper shook his head at the sniper's question.

"No that's impossible. That doesn't explain why his injuries hurt more than usual... Also, I have made contact with Zoro many times to check his vitals." He explained, both him and the swordsman remembering the countless checkups that had been done in the last week and a bit. Zoro was never shown to have experienced any sort of pain while Chopper was touching him.

"Could Zoro-san, maybe be more sensitive to pain now?" Brook asked, setting down the violin that he had been playing moments before this was discovered. If Usopp really did tap him, maybe if he's touched gently it's fine but anything that would cause anybody else to feel slight discomfort would maybe be increased for Zoro after what the swordsman did.

"That's a very likely guess Brook..." Robin spoke up, placing her lightly bandaged hand gently on her chin as she pondered the meaning of this latest development. "When Zoro was taken over by the demon, I remember that he felt no pain during that period of time. Though the pain always came back when he regained control and turned human once again. Maybe the effects of devouring the human side of himself has now affected his nerves, making them much more sensitive now to any sort of pain Zoro experiences." Robin concluded, seeing no other reasoning behind this effect.

"So now no matter what kind of pain Zoro feels it will always be doubled...?" Sanji asked grimly, watching Zoro's expression to see that it wasn't wavering in the slightest. There was no regret in his eyes from what he had done to himself, he did what he had to do to win the fight... It was that simple.

"From what we have just seen, it's more like it increased tenfold." Robin explained causing shocked expressions to be passed around the crew. That would be a very huge handicap in a fight... In fact that would be completely paralyzing at the slightest scratch.

"Good." Zoro suddenly chimed in with a cocky smirk playing across his lips, now suddenly his expression had grown so calm like he had understood the consequences and was excited to make the best of them. "Looks like I'll have a bit of a challenge for a while then." He stated, the swordsman could tell that his attitude towards the whole thing put everybody at ease.

"Will this ever go away?" Franky asked, still with a bit of a concerned ring to his tone as he looked over at Robin. She always seemed to have all of the answers to hard questions like these.

"I would believe so. Though I do not know how long it could last, like any injury his nerves should return to normal in time. At least that is what we have reason to believe." Robin answered in her analytical voice, the same sort of ring she had when he reads poneglyphs to the crew.

"Well as long as it'll go away we've got no immediate issues here. My injuries aren't any worse so it's no big deal." Zoro stated with the most laid back and indifferent voice he could muster. "I'll just be a bit careful until I'm back to normal, there's no reason to stop the banquet over this." He explained with a small shrug to show that it was no big deal and that he could handle the pain he was feeling.

Looking at the ground with a saddened expression he picked up the cup that once held his sake. "I can't believe I spilled it... I can take more, right?" He asked with a stern look to his doctor. After a small pause the crew went back to celebrating, though worried about Zoro there was nothing they could really do for him and he seemed to be ok for the time being. Though, for good measure they always kept a close eye on him even if they still were light hearted and having a fun time. Zoro even got a new cup of sake.

...

The party raged on for a long time but eventually when it became really late everybody finally fell asleep. Zoro, who was having a little bit more difficulty getting to bed was leaning comfortably over the railing and staring off into the ocean.

He could smell the salt of the sea water and the breeze in his hair as the moon reflected on the water's surface to make for a really beautiful night. All the clouds were gone in the sky to reveal every individual star.

"'You'll have a bit of a challenge now'? What a joke." A sudden familiar mocking sneer reached Zoro's ears as he turned his head slowly from the beautiful scenery to see an annoying blond cook in the moonlight, his amused and seemingly carefree smile as bright as the stars in the sky.

"What do you want?" Zoro asked very plainly and bluntly to the cook, he didn't give him any amusement by expressing his malcontent with the mocking. He didn't even address the comment which in truth made the cook a little disappointed that he had failed to get him angry.

"Nothing, I just finished cleaning up the mess you guys left behind in the kitchen." Sanji explained, leaning his back against the railing next to Zoro as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After a long drag he blew out the smoke, his smile now dropping to a more relaxed expression. "Caused me a lot of work."

"So if you're tired go to sleep." The swordsman retorted as more of a demand then a friendly suggestion. He used that kind of tone that really made it sound like he wanted Sanji to go to sleep so he doesn't have to talk to him. And that's exactly the kind of tone that was intended for this situation.

"You're one to talk. Chopper would be angry if he found out that you are up this late." Sanji teased, a bit of his smile coming back to his face when he saw Zoro's expression twist up in annoyance for a split second. "Anyway, how's the pain? Still bad?"

"I'm fine now. Chopper doesn't have to worry about making me sleep or anything." The swordsman claimed rolling his shoulders with a bit of an exaggerated movement to prove his point to the cook standing next to him. Though to anybody with eyes it would be obvious that the statement was not true.

"Oh really? Should I give you a harmless flick then?" The blonde continued to tease as he placed his fingers in a flicking position and slowly inched them towards the green haired man beside him. He obviously wasn't actually going to do it, but the idea at least got his point across.

"Shut it! Nobody asked for your opinion!" Zoro spat back with really nothing better to say as a response. The cook was right after all no matter how painful it was to admit. If he had flicked him it would have been a damn unpleasant feeling. Though obviously that wasn't Sanji's only motive since he looked so pleased when Zoro finally raised his voice.

"Poor marimo can't even handle a flick now! Careful not to get too worked up either or you could faint~." He continued, just eating up the anger he was making his nakama feel with his little jokes. Zoro always got so infuriated when Sanji made fun of his manly pride.

"Shut your trap or I swear I'll cut you to pieces!" The swordsman threatened, moving his hand towards the katana on his hip to prepare to fight with the cook. He didn't care what state his body was in, he was gonna prove to that good for nothing pervert that he shouldn't tease him like that, or he'd regret it.

"That's so threatening marmio-chan! I'm gonna cry!" Sanji suddenly shouted with a very sarcastic and over dramatic sounding tone in his voice, even adding a wince for good measure just to drive his point home.

"Why you little...!" Zoro muttered, his face turning a bright shade of red with anger and embarrassment as he pulled out his white katana and aimed it at the cook. "I warned you...-" Before the threats could continue Sanji laughed and threw up his arms, interrupting the swordsman from going any further.

"Ok ok, Chopper would kill me if I fight you so we can save this little dispute for later." He said, thinking rationally about what he was doing. If it was any other time he would have loved to get into a little pissing match with Zoro and throw a couple of kicks. It had been a while since they had sparred with each other like that but... It would have to wait until he recovered.

"Hmph... Whatever..." Zoro muttered in an even lower volume now, sliding his katana back in its sheath. Honestly he was also disappointed that they couldn't continue with their little skirmish. He enjoyed their little play fights with each other too but he knew that in this state the cook could accidentally hurt him, so they'd both just have to be a bit more patient.

After that there was a small pause between the two of them all of a sudden. It wasn't a heavy or an awkward pause, it was just two nakama enjoying each other's company in silence, both pretending they didn't want the other to be there.

It seemed like that's how all of their conversations started... With an argument. And well... There was really no other way to start a conversation with each other unless it's to pick a fight. So, Sanji really had no other way of starting the conversation other than teasing Zoro.

Though now that the ice was broken, he was planning on switching the conversation. He took much longer drags of his cigarette than usual during the period of silence as the cook thought to himself.

Throughout that whole quiet period, Sanji had a strange sad smile on his face. It was moments like these where the cook felt the most regret. Within that small pause, the atmosphere shifted from light to heavy as the cook's mood changed. Sanji just couldn't help feeling so glad that Zoro was alive...

Without Zoro, the cook would have nobody to tease... Nobody to fight or to get angry at on the deck. Though he didn't want to admit it, Sanji would feel very empty without Zoro by his side... And knowing that just made the cook's guilt feel that much worse...

He really couldn't go on with the crushing guilt any longer... Though Sanji didn't want to be the cause of more heaviness in the crew he just couldn't take it anymore. So, he made the selfish decision to have this conversation... The cook needed to tell the swordsman what he had done so that he could get what he deserves... Sanji needed to apologize even if he knew that after telling him what happened, Zoro would never forgive him.

The cook knew that after this conversation... The swordsman would never trust him again... But that's what he deserved after all, it was to be expected after the cook betrayed Zoro's trust like he did... So with one final breath, he started speaking again.

"Listen..." He started by speaking with a calm and smooth voice as smoke trickled out of his lips with each syllable. Sanji built up the courage to continue speaking, finally getting to what he wanted to talk about in the first place. "That time... When... You were in the final stages of being taken over by your demon..." Sanji suddenly paused there and shifted his gaze over to Zoro who was giving him a strange look of curiosity in exchange.

That look had a bunch of questions written all over it. The cook could tell that Zoro was wondering why he was bringing up such a heavy topic now. Even after it was supposed to be just a time for celebration, why did he go back to that moment? The swordsman knew he wouldn't just bring up a subject like that for nothing, so he payed close attention and gave the cook a small nod as a response to go on.

"I..." The cook paused in his tracks and stared heavily at the ground, his cigarette now rolling between in lips with anxiety mixed in his twitching. "I... Was going to kill you." As soon as he spat that out guilt purged his chest and stomach, tightening the two to an uncomfortable level.

"I know." The swordsman replied softly, with no really traces of anger or resentment in his tone at all towards the cook. Of course he wouldn't, that's exactly what he wanted at the time.

"I don't think you understand, moss for brains." Sanji's voice suddenly got much more aggressive with that line as he bit down on his cigarette and thought back to that moment. "There's no way you could possibly understand what I did when you said that damn thing to me... 'It's my turn to protect you now...!?' When the hell did I ever protect you? I hovered a sword over your throat and even after I did you said something like that to me!? You couldn't have possibly known!" Sanji ranted.

Zoro's eyes widened a bit that he actually heard that but faded back to calm... He must have been clinging to consciousness and heard him... "I had the sword in my hands... If Hawkeye walked in one second later... I would have chopped your damn head off." Sanji emphasized, only getting the same answer from Zoro.

"I know..." He repeated again though this time it was a much slower and softer tone. "I may have seemed out of it... And I was... So my memory is hazy. Though, I remember I woke up before you were about to. I know you were doing it to protect my humanity and to protect the crew. So... You did protect me. I asked you to do it, cook. You did nothing wrong." Zoro explained, still very relaxed even if his crew mate was tensing up beside him even more.

Sanji did remember that Zoro had opened his eyes a bit in that moment and had asked him to go through with it... Though he looked so out of it that the cook just assumed he wouldn't remember. Plus the way that the swordsman was acting so normal around him... He didn't think there was any way that he truly processed what was happening then... He assumed Zoro just told the cook to kill him because of the despair he was feeling.

Sanji betrayed him... That's all that really mattered here in this situation, whether Zoro knew what he was saying at that time or not. So, shaking his head he expressed his discontent. His voice now starting to shake slightly in agony with each word as he forcibly tried to stop it. "That's no excuse... I lied to you... Don't you get that...?" He took a pause and thought back to another time the swordsman asked for death. "A while ago... you came to me and tried to make that promise... and I denied you... Remember...?"

"Ya. Course I do." Zoro responded quietly, thinking back to that day. They had gotten into such a big argument about that... The swordsman approached Sanji and asked for the cook to kill him if he would ever lose control again... He wouldn't forget the huge fight those words caused...

Sanji dropped his gaze to the ground again as a troubled look came about his face before continuing to talk. "When you asked me to do it before I said to you that we would never do such a thing... I gave you my word that no matter what, we'd snap you out of it... That we would never kill you... And then... When our backs were against the wall... I... I through... all those words away..."

Halfway through his explanation the cook's voice started to shake more as he continued to talk. Sanji then quickly cut himself off when he realized his voice was cracking. He took another shaky breath of his cigarette to calm himself, giving himself a minute to get his voice back on track. Clenching his fists tightly, the cook made sure to keep an angered tone to hide his sadness. "I grabbed your katana and tried to kill you... I lied... And betrayed you..."

Zoro lowered his head when Sanji said that, realizing what asking that of the cook entailed. He hadn't realized the thought of killing him would spiral the cook in such turmoil... It was strange... He knew that they were close... But sometimes he had forgotten how much they truly care about each other.

It was a stupid thing to ask... He regretted doing it now, especially after seeing the cook this way over something he had almost done. Zoro caused Sanji so much grief and guilt... It was stupid to say it... To make him feel what he had felt when he killed Kuina would have been way too cruel...

"I'm sorry I put you through that..." Zoro suddenly said, cutting the cook off and still with such a calm and level headed tone. As soon as he heard those words Sanji widened his eyes, whipping his gaze back to the swordsman as his eyes went crazy with anger and resentment towards both himself and the idiot swordsman standing next to him.

"Don't you dare blame yourself!" Sanji suddenly shouted, cutting off Zoro in return before he could say anything else, noticing the sudden change in atmosphere around the swordsman. "Don't you get that I'm trying to apologize here!? How dare you say sorry to me!?" He snapped at the green haired man who simply looked back at him with the same calm expression that he'd had through the whole conversation. If Zoro was apologizing just because Sanji had let his voice waver for a moment he'd definitely give the swordsman a hard kick to the side of the head.

"It was my failure in the first place that got you this way! I couldn't seal your damn demon fast enough, I was too weak! Yet I made it so you'd be the one to pay for those consequences..." Sanji explained further remembering that important and decisive fight that he took place in... And because of him...

"That was both of our failures... I lost consciousness which made it end in the first place..." Zoro countered calmly. "You knew I was ready to die then, cook... There's no way this is your fault... So, who else can I blame but myself...? I've put you through a lot... I shouldn't have put so much weight on your shoulders... It's my fault that you're feeling this way." Zoro explained solemnly, shifting his gaze to the ground and away from the cook's now piercing eyes. He knew that Sanji wasn't to blame... He couldn't let the cook feel this guilt any longer.

"SHUT UP!" The cook suddenly erupted in sheer fury at what the swordsman was saying. "How could you possibly blame yourself for me trying to kill you!? How can you not be furious with me now that you know what I've done!?" Sanji yelled pointing an accusing finger at the swordsman who's gaze slowly shifted back to him.

"It was a tough decision. Me or the entire crew. You made a choice, and it was the right one for that situation." Zoro explained to the cook who only bit down in his cigarette harder, not even noticing the strong tobacco taste that was in his mouth.

"I obviously didn't! There was a different method, I would have killed you when there was a chance for you to be saved. I should have thought of more options before I tried to kill you!" Sanji continued loudly, shaking his head at the thought of Hawkeye walking in too late to see that Zoro was dead. His nakama and his precious katana covered in the green haired man's blood for Hawkeye to say that there was a way he could have survived.

"How were you supposed to know there was another option? You were driven into a corner and made a decision. That's it, that's final." Zoro stated, narrowing his eyes to show the cook that he was completely serious about what he was saying. A challenge to try and go against what he said again.

"So... You're gonna forgive me for trying to kill you, just like that? Even after I said that I wouldn't...? You're gonna forgive me for giving up on you? For trying to cut your dream short...?" Sanji asked with a much quieter tone, now both were looking each other directly in the eyes as a challenge. It was as if they were baiting each other to continue the argument, neither backing down on their opinions.

The way that the cook was acting in this moment really reminded Zoro of himself when he was feeling the same sort of guilt... He understood everything Sanji was saying... He knew all of the emotions that he was feeling too well. However, now their roles were reversed and Zoro needed to help the cook through this. That's what Sanji did for him after all...

"No. Cause you didn't do any of that shit..." Zoro said, quickly adding another point before Sanji could retort against him again. "And anyways... Even if you had done all that I'd still forgive you. That's what everybody did for me after all... I tried to kill you and the rest of the crew... But you guys forgave me for that without a moment's hesitation." The swordsman muttered thinking back to everything they have gone through.

"Either way, I'm alive and it's all over. That's all that matters now. Don't dwell on what you could have done or what could have happened. What happened, happened. Now we just have to move on." Zoro stated with a very wise tone. He just wanted Sanji to accept things as they are and continue with his life...

"That's different... That wasn't you...! I was in complete control. I made the decision to kill you! How can you just move on so easily!? How can you just trust me after what I did...?" Sanji raised his voice slightly once again, quickly lowering his voice when he felt those damn tears come to his eyes. There was no way he was gonna cry in front of the swordsman, especially for an attempted apology that was for him... That would just be way too embarrassing. Though now, his voice was trembling harshly.

"You know... The rest of the crew was so against it too... Me and Luffy got into a huge fight..." Sanji explained in such a broken tone that it caused Zoro's heart to drop. The cook sounded so horrible... Though after having such crushingly heavy feelings being buried inside of him for so long it was no wonder that they would all eventually explode once he finally talked about it.

"I gave up on you... But the rest of the crew never did." He continued, his eyes and expression slowly becoming more and more drowned in sorrow. "I claimed I would do anything to save you back then to Luffy... In truth I just wanted to protect my own damn stubborn opinion...! I was just... scared of you..." Sanji's voice started to waver against his will as he spoke, his mind was so filled with thoughts and emotions that he had almost forgotten he was talking to anybody at all.

"I claimed it was to stop your suffering... But that was all just some lame ass excuse...! I should have never suggested anything like that!" He continued to poor out every thought and emotion that had been building up inside of him. Zoro knew that the cook had forgotten he was there and stayed completely silent, listening closely to everything his nakama was saying... He needed somebody to vent to... Even if it was to the person this was all caused by.

"Even if that would make me a liar I thought doing this was for the greater good... I thought I was prepared to face those consequences of killing you. But in truth I'm weak... And now here you are, healthy and well after everything that I said to Luffy... After all of that despair I made him feel..." Sanji's voice become even more strained than before as he sounded like he was holding back tears. He took a small pause from talking before continuing in the most broken tone that Zoro has heard the cook use.

"Everything Luffy accused me of was correct... Everything... They were right to fight me like they did... I listened to you when you were obviously drowning in despair... I shouldn't have listened... I... I should have kept my word... I should have never raised a sword to you during your darkest time... I'm sorry... I don't expect you to trust me again... But... I'm... I'm sorry... That's all I wanted to say." Sanji rambled. As he said all of that, flashes of what had happened that day went through his mind. He remembered the look on everybody's face when he suggested it, hovering the sword over Zoro's throat...

Thinking of what happened, just imagining what the crew would be like with Zoro dead... Living with the fact that Sanji had killed him... Reliving the scene of the cook holding that katana... Before he could stop them, small tears were rolling down his cheeks as he spoke. He quickly whipped them away when he remembered that somebody was standing in front of him, though he knew that Zoro had seen them for sure.

Sanji just couldn't help it, saying all of this out loud made him feel so much pain... "Damn it!..." He shouted weakly through choked tears when the swordsman was staying so silent. "Zoro... Please... Don't pretend to be indifferent... Just..." The cook buried his face into his hand to cover his expression from the swordsman. "I'm sorry... I don't deserve your forgiveness... But... I'm... So-"

"Quit apologizing already! I don't need one from you and I don't want one!" Zoro finally interrupted aggressively, unable to see the cook this way anymore. He was practically begging at this point, Zoro just couldn't stand it anymore. Of all people, the swordsman did not deserve so much of an apology. He had done so many horrible things himself... He had to stop the cook now before he lost his cool.

"Idiot! You've saved me more times than I can count, cook!" Taking a deep breath, he examined Sanji's expression. Zoro completely ignored the tears he had seen earlier to sustain his nakama's pride. The cook was like him in that way and hated showing weakness in front of other people...

Even after whipping them, the cook's eyes were still watering and he looked like he was drowning in guilt. Again, a feeling he was way too familiar with... "'I should have this, I should have that' who cares!? I'm alive and it all worked out for the best!" Zoro suddenly raised his voice for the first time during this argument before lowering it once again. "You didn't kill me... Ok? You shouldn't feel any guilt..."

That's right... The cook hadn't made the same mistake that he had... Sanji didn't kill somebody close to him... Everything was alright... Though even after what Zoro said the cook still had the same guilt-written, sorrowful look on his face... Sanji had to forgive himself now. There had to be a way to pull him out of the guilt he was feeling... And... In the heat of the moment with so many memories and emotions running wild inside of Zoro... He did the first thing that came to mind after a seemingly long pause of silence.

"Look... Without a doubt... I... still trust you..." He stated, his gaze becoming much softer. "If you don't believe I'm telling you the truth... let me prove it by making one final promise with you." Zoro continued, a certain warmth in his voice suddenly coming to the surface. As it did, he took a small pause to debate how to phrase it.

"You'll always have my back and I'll always have yours. Deal?" Zoro suddenly stated, extending his hand out to the cook and waiting for him to take it as he shifted his eyes a bit to the side. The swordsman was waiting to see how the cook would react to this sudden confession of trust that the swordsman was showing towards him.

Sanji removed his hand from his face to reveal a bit of mix between a shocked and an unsure expression at first as he stared blankly at Zoro's hand. To anybody else this would seem like a completely meaningless gesture. They already knew that they had each other backs through thick and thin. They already knew that they were nakama who would do anything to protect each other, so how would this change anything?

However, this declaration of trust showed more than forgiveness... For the swordsman to be opening up meant that this whole ordeal actually made the two of them closer in a sort of strange way. They had always trusted each other, that was obvious. But for this sudden admittance from the two of them of their deep bond would start a whole new relationship between the two. The distance they set between each other would be completely closed.

After everything... Zoro was finally going to let himself open up to somebody again like he did with Kuina. There was no more fear that he would kill them, no more hesitation or guilt that ate away at him and forced him to keep a distance from everybody.

On the surface, of course the two of them would always seem like they were the same. They would continue to argue, continue to fight and mock each other. However, underneath just knowing that this oath has been established will make them assured of their brotherly relationship, assured that the feeling is mutual.

Sanji was taken back by the swordsman's words and the hand sticking out in front of him. Trusting him to have his back... Even after he tried to kill him...? Yeah... They always trusted each other anyways.

All that was left was for Sanji to forgive himself and take his nakama's hand. He just had to forgive himself for trying to kill one of his closest friends. This oath they were making to always have each other's backs would help heal the guilt that Sanji was feeling since he now knew Zoro would be relying on him.

That feeling of being relied on gave the cook a chance to make up for what he had done to the swordsman and it was this hope that lifted the weight off of Sanji's shoulders, getting rid of the guilt that had bound his heart until now.

Zoro was right with what he had said before... It was over. This trust that the swordsman was expressing to him, for him to open up and let Sanji protect him... just like a brother would... It was something new... Definitely something that would never be addressed again but always remembered and cherished.

However, that didn't matter to the cook. Their relationship had always been one of few kind words to one another. A deep bond masked over rivalry. To unmask it just this once, to swear trust in each other and their eternal nakamaship would always be enough for the two of them.

After Sanji forgave himself the long ordeal would finally be over. There would be nothing left to keep any of the Straw Hats down, they would finally be able to continue their adventure and leave all of this despair and sorrow behind. The crew could finally return to complete normality.

So, after a somewhat long pause Sanji finally grasped the swordsman's hand with no more hesitation. His unsure expression now turning into a smile as Zoro mirrored the expression, both now smiling at each other and looking into the fiery eyes of one another with brotherly warmth. The cook gave the swordsman a small nod, squeezing his hand a little harder. "You've got yourself a deal."

With that, the two grinned a bit wider at each other. "Good..." The swordsman responded with a happy ring to his voice which he never used when talking to the cook. "Then no more sorrow or guilt."

Sanji gave his nakama a small, genuinely happy nod as he too now was using a warm and friendly voice. "Right." With a small build up, the two said the special, binding words of truth to each other in unison.

"It's a promise!"

**((Author's Note: And that's it! Of course I'd end it with some ZoSan Bromance! ;) thank you so much for your support throughout the years as I wrote this! I really hope you enjoyed the story, I couldn't have done it without you guys. Please leave some reviews on what you thought of the ending or on the story as a whole! Also, let me know what your favourite chapter/moment was! :) Though it really hurts to say goodbye to this story, that's the last chapter... Thank you for reading!))**


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